Jamaat-ul-Ahrar

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
Participant in the War in North-West Pakistan and the Global War on Terrorism
Active	August 2014 – March 2015[1]
Ideology	Sunni Islamic fundamentalism
Leaders	Omar Khalid Khorasani
Area of operations	Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Afghanistan
Part of	Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Rejoined in March 2015)
Originated as	Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan faction (Split away in August 2014)
Allies	al-Qaeda[2]
Opponents	Pakistan India[2]
Battles and wars	War in North-West Pakistan Operation Zarb-e-Azb Operation Khyber-1

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar ("Assembly of the Free") is a militant Sunni Islamic group that split away from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in August 2014.^[3] Although some media outlets reported that the group had pledged allegiance to ISIS,^[4] it had merely voiced support for the group.^[5] In March 2015, the group's spokesman announced that it was rejoining the Pakistani Taliban.^[1]

History

Roots and development

In September 2014, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Mullah Fazlullah ousted Mohmand Agency chief Omar Khalid Khorasani (former leader of Ahrar-ul-Hind). Omar Khalid Khorasani and his associates in Mohmand Agency had accused the TTP leadership of deviating from the TTP ideology, leading to the formation of splinter group TTP Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was effectively divided into two factions. The original TTP is headed by Maulana Fazlullah, who was elected in November 2013 following the killing of ex-chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike. In February 2014, Ahrar-ul-Hind, headed by Maulana Umar Qasmi (former leader in the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi) was formed after TTP opened peace talks with the Pakistani government. It later merged into Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a second splinter group that broke away from Tehreek-i-Taliban in Pakistan on 4 September 2014, and named Omar Khalid Khorasani as its commander.^[6]

Relations with TTP

The group had announced they would no longer recognize or obey Mullah Fazlullah as their Emir.^[7]

Organizational structure

Leaders

Current

• Omar Khalid Khorasani (aka Abdul Wali)- previously led a faction called Ahrar-ul-Hind, which claimed several attacks during a ceasefire period between the government and Taliban earlier this year, including an attack on an Islamabad court complex that killed 12 people. He is also one of the founding members of the TTP and is a former journalist from Mohmand agency.^[7]

Spokesmen

Current

• Ehsanullah Ehsan

Operation Khyber-1

On 9 November, least 13 militants were killed in security forces' offensive in Akakhel which included among the dead two suicide bombers and a key commander. Ehsan confirmed that their key commander Abu Jandal was killed during the 9 November bombing in Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley.^[8]

Claimed and alleged attacks

• 2 November 2014, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the Wagah border attack in a telephone call to Dawn from Afghanistan. "Some other groups have claimed responsibility of this attack, but these claims are baseless. We will soon release the video of this attack," he said. "This attack is revenge for the killing of innocent people in North Waziristan."^[9]
• 7 November 2014, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for twin bombings that killed at least six people in Mohmand Agency. The bombs targeted peace committee volunteers in Chinari village of Safi Tehsil. Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility and vowed to continue attacking tribal peace committees.^[10]
• 21 November 2014, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on the membership camp of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Orangi Town area of Karachi. Three members of the Sindh Assembly and 50 workers were injured.^[11][12]
• 15 March 2015, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for twin bombings at a Roman Catholic church and Christ Church during Sunday service at Youhanabad town of Lahore. At least 15 people were killed and seventy were wounded in the attacks.^[13]
• 7 March 2016, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that left 11 dead and 15 wounded after a man blew himself up outside a district court in the town of Shabqadar in the Charsadda District.^[14]
• 27 March 2016, a spokesman for Taliban splinter group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar says: 'We proudly take responsibility for the suicide attack in a park in Lahore. Members of the Christian community who were celebrating Easter today were our prime target' but that 'we didn't want to kill women and children. Our target were male members of the Christian community'.^[15] The nail-filled device near a children’s playground^[16] killed over 70 people, reportedly mostly Muslim.^[17] It was described as an attempt by the group "to establish itself as the most aggressive and violent" Islamist group in Pakistan.^[16]

See also

• Ehsanullah Ehsan
• Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan
• Fazlullah
• Operation Black Thunderstorm
• Operation Zarb-e-Azb
• War in North-West Pakistan

References

1. "Pakistani splinter group rejoins Taliban amid fears of isolation". Reuters. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
2. "Taliban group threatens to attack India following border blast". Reuters. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
3. "Pakistan Taliban faction announce split, new leader". Agence France-Presse. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
4. "ISIS Now Has Military Allies in 11 Countries – NYMag". Daily Intelligencer. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
5. "Situating the Emergence of the Islamic State of Khorasan". CTC Sentinel. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
6. "Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar forms in northwestern Pakistan". Pakistannewsviews.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
7. "TTP Chief Mullah Fazlullah ousts Commander Umar Khorasani". Retrieved 19 May 2015.
8. Zahir Shah Sherazi. "Jamaatul Ahrar confirms death of commander in Khyber airstrikes". Retrieved 19 May 2015.
9. "TTP splinter groups claim Wagah attack; 60 dead". Retrieved 19 May 2015.
10. Zahir Shah Sherazi. "Twin blasts kill at least six people in Mohmand". Retrieved 19 May 2015.
11. three members of the Sindh Assembly and 50 workers were injured in the grenade attack
12. "Jamaatul Ahrar claims responsibility for attack on MQM camp - PAKISTAN - geo.tv". 21 November 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
13. "Deadly blasts hit Pakistan churches in Lahore". BBC. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
14. "A police official says a suicide bomber has attacked the entrance to a court in a northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 people". US News & World Report. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
15. "69 killed as suicide blast rocks Lahore". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
16. Burke, Jason (2016-03-28). "Lahore bombing is faction's boldest bid to stake claim as Pakistan's most violent terrorists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
17. "Lahore bombing: Pakistan mourns as death toll rises". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2016-03-28.