al-Madina -- Ally
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) -- Suspected Alias/Ally

Al-Mansoorain is a Kashmiri separatist organization conducting attacks on Indian targets within the Kashmir valley. Al-Mansoorain is believed to be one of many fronts for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which have arisen since the U.N. banned LeT. Al-Mansoorain primarily employs suicide-bombing tactics. Al-Mansoorain primarily targets Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camps and government office buildings within Kashmir. <P> The group's most visible attack was a July 24th, 2004 suicide bombing of a hotel near Dal Lake, a tourist area in Kashmir. This attack as well as an August 2003 restaurant bombing indicate that al-Mansoorain's emphasis on targeting government buildings should not be confused as an unwillingness to target civilian areas. Al-Mansoorain has often timed its attacks to coincide with high-level negotiations regarding demilitarization between India and Pakistan. The only person identified as a leader of this organization, Firdaus Ahmed Lone, was killed in a firefight with police forces on July 10th, 2004.

Al-Mansoorain has launched enough attacks since the death of Firdaus Ahmed Lone to indicate that it will continue its operations in the immediate future. The group can be expected to continue sporadic low-level attacks on Indian government buildings in Kashmir. Al-Mansoorain's spokesperson, Omar Mukhtar, has declared the organization's determination to continue launching guerilla attacks until the Indian government grants independence to Jammu and Kashmir.

Al-Nawaz commenced its terrorist attacks in Pakistan soon after the bloodless coup of October 1999 that led to the deposition of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the ascendancy of General Pervez Musharraf into power. Statements by the group claimed that their attacks were carried out in order to protest the "hijacking of Nawaz Sharif's government by the military." Sharif's party, the Muslim League, denied any involvement in the group's activities and also asserted that the group did not really exist, claiming it was an attempt at "disinformation." Some Pakistani officials have suggested that the Indian external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was behind the attacks.  <P><br />Some analysts linked al-Nawaz to the deadly November 20th, 1999 bombing in a crowded market in Lahore that killed 8 and injured 17. This implication, however, lends even more credibility to the claims negating the existence of an "al-Nawaz" group, as the bombing was carried out in the old city of Lahore, an area of longstanding support for Sharif.