Lashkar-e-Omar
Encyclopedia
Lashkar-e-Omar is a Pakistan
i Islamic fundamentalist
terrorist organization. The group, formed in January 2002, is a mixture of elements from three other terrorist groups: Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
, and Jaish-e-Mohammed
. It also includes members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
. Its reported mission is to attack Americans
in Pakistan. The current leader is Qari Abdul Hai, also known as Qari Asadullah alias Talha.
Several events have been linked to the group. It was reportedly behind a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad
on March 17, 2002, which resulted in five deaths and 41 injuries. Two of the deaths were of a wife and daughter of a US diplomat. A couple of months later on May 8 a suicide bomber detonated outside a Sheraton
hotel in Karachi
. Again in Karachi 10 people were killed when the US consulate was attacked on June 14. Finally on October 28, 2002, a church in Bahawalpur
in Punjab
, was attacked by six gunmen, killing 17 Christians and a police officer. Some of its members are also allegedly connected to the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl
.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i Islamic fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
terrorist organization. The group, formed in January 2002, is a mixture of elements from three other terrorist groups: Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone...
, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant organization. Formed in 1996, it has operated in Pakistan since Sipah-e-Sahaba activist Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors...
, and Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
. It also includes members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Its reported mission is to attack Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in Pakistan. The current leader is Qari Abdul Hai, also known as Qari Asadullah alias Talha.
Several events have been linked to the group. It was reportedly behind a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
on March 17, 2002, which resulted in five deaths and 41 injuries. Two of the deaths were of a wife and daughter of a US diplomat. A couple of months later on May 8 a suicide bomber detonated outside a Sheraton
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
hotel in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Again in Karachi 10 people were killed when the US consulate was attacked on June 14. Finally on October 28, 2002, a church in Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur , located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs and counted as part of the Rajputana states...
in Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, was attacked by six gunmen, killing 17 Christians and a police officer. Some of its members are also allegedly connected to the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
.