Very little is known about the Ecuadorian Rebel Force.  The group has been implicated in only one attack, which took place in November of 2001.  The Ecuadorian Rebel Force detonated a bomb outside of the National Finance Corporation (CFN) and the National Modernization Council (Conam).  Conam is the Ecuadorian government agency that supervises the sale of state-owned electricity and telecom industries to the private sector.  <P> The Ecuadorian Rebel Force opposes the Ecuadorian government's program to privatize the electricity sector.  Thus, the terrorist organization's bombing of the Conam and CFN building is consistent with their stated goals.  The group claimed responsibility for the attack.  The Ecuadorian Rebel Force exhibits signs of anti-globalization sentiments.  However, due to the limited information on the group, the group's larger goals remain unknown.

The Ecuadorian Rebel Force is presumed to be inactive.

Al-Jihad, Al-Jihad al-Islami, Jihad Group, New Jihad Group, Qaeda al-Jihad, Talaa'al al-Fateh, Vanguards of Conquest

Formed in the late 1970s; merged with al Qaeda in June 2001

This Egyptian Islamic extremist group merged with Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization in June 2001, but may retain some capability to conduct independent operations.  The relationship between Jihad leader al-Zawahiri and bin Laden formally began in February 1998 when al-Jihad joined the International Front.  <P><br /><br />Following the group's founding in the late 1970s, Egyptian security authorities began a ruthless crackdown on al-Jihad in the 1980s, imprisoning, torturing and executing its members. The group then split into two factions, one led by al-Zawahiri, the other by Abbud al-Zumar, who is currently imprisoned. The latter faction has since disappeared as many of its members have been jailed. But al-Zawahiri's faction, also known as the "Vanguards of Conquest" (Talaa'al al-Fateh), has thrived. In the mid-80s, al-Zawahiri moved the headquarters to Afghanistan and began recruiting Afghan arabs.  New cells of al-Jihad were trained in the mujaheddin camps of Afghanistan from which they set off on missions to Egypt. Al-Jihad militants were trained as suicide bombers (reputedly an al-Zawahiri specialty) and, for reasons of security and effectiveness, they formed into isolated cells working independent of one another.