<a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=LE">Lebanon</a>, <a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=SY">Syria</a>, <a href="terrorist_organizations_by_country.asp?id=8">West Bank/Gaza</a>

Al-Saiqa ("Storm" or "Thunderbolt") is a secular, leftist, Palestinian nationalist terror group.  The group was founded in 1966 by Syrian Ba'athists as a pan-Arab, Syrian-backed movement within the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).  Like most Palestinian terror groups, al-Saiqa's goal is to destroy Israel and establish an Arab state in its place.  Due to its close ties with the Syrian regime, the group was originally commanded by Syrian General Salah Jadid, a chief rival of Syrian dictator Hafez al-Asad.  When Asad seized power in 1970, he promptly replaced al-Saiqa's leadership with pro-Asad officials, placing al-Saiqa firmly under the control of the Syrian army.  Despite its supposed commitment to the Palestinian cause, it has consistently supported Syrian policies often at the expense of the broader Palestinian movement.  Throughout the late 1960s into the 1970s, the group conducted a few low-level attacks against Israeli targets, rival Arab states, and rival Palestinian groups.

Al-Saiqa is a largely marginalized group within the Palestinian movement, lacking the secular strength of al-Fatah and the Islamist strength of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  While the group is technically still active within the PLO, it has vocally opposed any compromise with Israel but has not translated this opposition into any significant terror activity.

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) -- Supported Cause

Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, a former member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), created Al Umar Mujahideen (AuM) in 1989 and named it after Srinagar-based cleric Maulvi Umar Farooq, who endorsed the group. Farooq may have endorsed Al-Umar to counteract the influence of far-right groups such as the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, which fail to respect his religious authority.  In November of 2002, al-Umar Mujahedin claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on the office of the separatist Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) in Srinagar.   <P><br /><br />Zargar was arrested in 1992, but was one of three terrorists released by the Indian Government on December 31, 1999 in exchange for the passengers of a hijacked aircraft. AuM still operates out of the Kashmir valley. AuM has reportedly been providing guidance for the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) organization in Jammu and Kashmir.  In June 2002, Indian police reported that AuM was now operating as Al Madina.