Lashkar I Jhangvi (LJ), "the Army of Jhangvi."

LJ operates primarily in the Punjab region of Pakistan and the city of Karachi. Some group members are believed to be active in Afghanistan.

The main goal of LJ is the establishment of a Sunni Muslim state in Pakistan.

The total strength of LJ is estimated at between 100 and 300 members.

LJ is connected with the Sunni Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan sectarian movement that seeks an Islamic state in Pakistan. In addition, LJ has been linked the Al-Qaida terrorist network, as well as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. LJ joined with the Kashmiri militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkut-ul-Jiahd-i-Islami to form the Lashkar-e-Omar, which has been called the Pakistani wing of Al-Qaida. LJ also receives support from numerous Sunni madrassas in Pakistan as well as other organizations affiliated with the Deobandi movement.

LJ also derives funds by extorting Shi'ite banks and businesses. Benefactors in Saudi Arabia and Karachi, Pakistan, are also suspected of supporting the group.

LJ originally targeted rival Shi'ite Muslims in Pakistan. During the 1990s, LJ was involved in a series of shootings against Shi'ite clerics, officials and worshippers.

The group tried to assassinate former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his bother Shabaz Sharif in January 1999.

Recent LJ attacks have become more sophisticated and more political. The group has used package bombs and suicide bombers to attack high-profile targets.

As LJ has fallen under the influence of Al-Qaida, the group has begun to include Western and Christian targets among its attacks.

The group was linked to the January 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The man who assassinated Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 was also linked to LJ.

LJ was formed in 1996 by Akram Lahori and Riaz Basra as the armed offshoot of the Sunni Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) sectarian group. SSP was founded by Maulan Haq Nawaz Jhangvi in the 1980s with goal of establishing a Sunni theocracy in Pakistan.

LJ is divided into cells of five to eight people operating independently. After conducting an attack, the cell usually disperses and then reassembles at various training camps. The small cells are subordinated to loosely coordinated regional sub-units.

Muhammad Ajmal reportedly took over leadership of LJ after Riaz Basra's death in 2002. Ajmal is in custody for his alleged involvement in 38 sectarian killings. Leadership has passed to Mufti Eid Mohammed.

LJ recently affiliated itself with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group, with operatives of each group believed to be working together. Despite some success on the part of security forces to find and arrest members of LJ, the group is still a major security concern.

1996
LJ was established as an armed offshoot of the Sunni Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan group.

1998
LJ was held responsible for the killing of 25 Shi'ites in Mominpura Cemetery in Lahore, Pakistan.

2002
LJ joined with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Jihad-Islami to create the Lashkar-e-Omar (Army of Omar).

January: LJ assisted in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

May 8: An LJ member rammed a car bomb into a Pakistani navy bus, killing 14 people, including 11 French technicians.

May 16: LJ co-founder Riza Basra was killed in a four-hour shootout with authorities.

June 14: An LJ car bomb was driven into the U.S. consulate in Karachi, killing 12 Pakistanis.

September: Chemical laboratories were discovered in LJ safe houses in Karachi.

Dec. 19: LJ senior member Asif Ramzi died in a shootout in Korangi with Pakistani authorities.

2003
Jan. 30: The United States designated LJ as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

Feb. 22: LJ was blamed for the attack on the Shi'ite Medhi Mosque in Karachi that killed nine people.

July 4: Armed militants stormed a Shi'ite mosque in Quetta, Pakistan, killing at least 53 people. LJ later claimed responsibility for the incident.

2004
March 2: At least 47 Shi'ite Muslims were killed in Quetta, Pakistan when LJ militants attacked their religious procession.

April 1: Police arrested Naeem Baloch, an LJ member, with 12 lbs. of explosives and several hand grenades. Authorities suspected Baloch was planning to assassinate Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

June 14: Suspected LJ leader Dawood Badini was arrested. Badini was the alleged mastermind behind three attacks in Quetta in 2003 and 2004 that left 99 Shi'ites dead.

2005
Feb. 18: Police arrested around 50 suspected members of LJ in Karachi. The arrests followed an incident in which two LJ members blew themselves up with a hand grenade after authorities found them preparing for a probable attack on Shi'ite Muslims.

Sept. 25: Pakistani security forces captured Asif Choto, the reputed head of LJ. Choto was credited with reorganizing the group after the arrest or death of several of its top figures.

2006
March 2: One diplomat was killed in a suicide bombing at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. LJ was blamed for the attack.

April 11: LJ was suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on Shi'ite worshippers at Nishtar Park in Karachi that killed more than 60 people.

July 6: Six members of LJ, including a deputy chief, were arrested for planning attacks on a polo festival in the town of Shandur.

July 9: Security forces arrested eight LJ members in northern Pakistan for their alleged involvement in the assassination of a Shi'ite religious leader. The assassination of Allama Ziauddin, which took place in 2005, sparked sectarian violence in the region.

July 19: Pakistani police arrested a member of Lashkar I Jhangvi for his suspected link to a suicide bombing that killed Shi'ite religious leader Hassan Turabi. The July 14 bombing took place outside the cleric's house in Karachi.

Oct. 1: LJ reportedly began a new recruitment drive involving new district- and provincial-level cells. Matiur Rehman was said to have been assigned the task of reorganizing LJ cells with the assistance of Abdullah Faryad, the LJ chief of Ditta Khel in Punjab.

Oct. 13: Security agencies arrested eight people alleged to have links with LJ and Al-Qaida for planting anti-tank rockets in various locations in Islamabad.

Dec. 16: Militants belonging to Tehreek-i-Nafaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) were said to be planning suicide bombings of army installations and foreign troops in Afghanistan. LJ leaders vowed to cooperate with TNSM and urged the development of a joint strategy, with LJ being responsible for recruiting and training suicide bombers.

Dec. 31: Pakistani intelligence agencies said they had found a LJ plan to conduct suicide attacks on numerous Shi'ite mosques throughout the country.

2007
Jan. 22: The Karachi unit chief of LJ Mohammad Ali was arrested in the Korangi district of Karachi. Ali was suspected of two murders and had been the unit chief for about a year. He was planning terrorist attacks for the Muharram period, said police.

Feb. 6: Police arrested LJ leader Rizwan Ahmed in Lahore on suspicion of preparing suicide attacks.

Feb. 24: Police detained 40 students and six teachers of the Aziz-ul-Aloom madrassa in Cheechawatni; they were alleged to be members of LJ linked to a failed suicide bombing attack in eastern Pakistan.

Feb. 28: A suspected LJ militant was arrested in Hyderabad. Around 15 pounds of explosives were recovered from the militant.

March 9: Pakistani police arrested a suspected suicide bomber affiliated with LJ said to be planning to attack a Muharram (Islamic new year) procession on March 10 in the town of Sukkur. A hand grenade, 3.3 lbs. of explosives, detonators and a suicide vest were recovered. Jalil Ahmed Ababaki reportedly confessed to involvement in six acts of terrorism in Baluchistan, including killing 13 police recruits at Quetta in 2003 and 45 Shi'ites in a Muharram procession in 2004.

June 4: Two LJ members were arrested in Kashmor, a town northwest of Karachi, in connection with the kidnapping and murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.

Oct. 3: Afghan security forces arrested four suspected suicide bombers belonging to LJ in southern Afghanistan. They were arrested after a raid on a house where four suicide jackets were discovered.

Dec. 27: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated following a political rally in Rawalpindi by a man reportedly linked to LJ.

2008
Feb. 10: Ten suspected LJ members were arrested in a series of police raids across Pakistan that netted 40 militants.

Feb. 26: Four LJ members were arrested in the Kotwali region and found with explosives and weapons in their possession. Police said one of the men was the nephew of former leader Riaz Basra.

July 14: Two LJ members were arrested with a top Al-Qaida operative in Multan, Punjab province.

July 27: A senior member of LJ, Shafiq-ur-Rehman, was arrested in Quetta in northwestern Pakistan. He was allegedly involved in planning two suicide bombings in 2002 and 2003 that left over 100 Shi'ites dead and 180 injured.

Sept. 20: A truck bomb blew up outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing 53 people. The dead included the Czech ambassador and two U.S. Marines. At least 200 people were injured in the blast. Qari Zafar, a senior member of LJ, was one of two militants blamed for masterminding the attack. In December, a Pakistan official confirmed that the attack had been conducted by an LJ militant and at least one accomplice.

Sept. 30: Police arrested several suspected LJ terrorists at a hotel in Punjab, including a militant who was convicted in the 1995 assassination attempt on former Premier Nawaz Sharif but was later released on appeal.

Oct. 15: Security officials arrested two persons who were suspected of supplying weapons to LJ and the Taliban.

Nov. 23: The Pakistani Taliban announced its presence in Karachi and said it had established ties to LJ, SSP and other banned organizations, according to a TTP spokesman.

2009
March 3: About a dozen suspected LJ members launched an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan. Six policemen escorting the team and a bus driver were killed. Several team members were injured. Three suspects were arrested in May.

April 8: Police reported the arrest of five LJ members for allegedly plotting to bomb sensitive areas in Karachi.

Aug. 22: Karachi police arrested seven LJ members, who reportedly surrendered without putting up any resistance. Officials said one of the accused was involved in attacks on former President Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Police recovered suicide jackets, explosive material, weapons and heroin. The militants allegedly were involved in drug-trafficking to generate funds.

Sept. 20: Pakistan launched a campaign aimed at capturing 83 top-level terrorists, including members of LJ.

Oct. 20: The Pakistan government told Iranian officials that the Jundallah militant faction involved in a suicide attack Oct. 18 on Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Zahedan was coordinating its activities with LJ and the TTP in plots to undermine Pakistan and Iranian relations.

Nov. 12: Police in Quetta reported the arrest of a top LJ terrorist wanted in multiple attacks that resulted in at least 28 deaths.

2010
Feb. 26: Police arrested three LJ members at a hideout in Karachi. The militants were said to be preparing to conduct an attack on the birthday of the prophet Mohammed. Explosive materials, including mortars and detonators, were recovered. The arrested persons were also linked to the TTP.

March 29: Police captured three high-level members of LJ in Karachi. Police also recovered explosive materials and handguns in their possession.

April 16: A suicide bomber killed 11 people inside a hospital in Quetta. LJ claimed responsibility for the attack. At least 35 other persons were injured in the attack.

April 17: An LJ faction claimed responsibility for bombing a settlement camp in Kohat, killing 44 people and injuring at least 70 others.

May 5: Police in Lyari apprehended a member of LJ charged with participating in an April 2010 bank robbery in the town of Gadap. Police also said they defused a bomb in Memon Goth as a result of information gained from three LJ members that had been arrested in connection to the bank robbery case. Several suspects in the robbery were also affiliated with the TTP, according to officials.