Al-Badr (also al-Badhr Mujahideen)

(Kashmir)

Al-Badr seeks to establish an Indian-free Kashmir that will become part of Pakistan. The group also wants to spread the practice of Islam throughout South Asia, and calls for the strict adherence to Islamic doctrine and law. The organization has vowed to disrupt negotiations between India and Pakistan, as well as to attack the sources of what it calls corrupt Western influences.

Al-Badr is part of the United Jihad Council (UJC), a coalition of Pakistan-based terrorist groups. The group reportedly has been assisted by Pakistan's ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

Al-Badr is viewed as one of the more militant terrorist organizations operating in Kashmir and Jammu. Al-Badr is one of the few groups in the region to employ suicide squads. The group has used explosives to attack Indian military sites and politicians in Kashmir and India; murdered women for being enrolled in college; attacked news sources for what was deemed inappropriate reporting; and threatened to bomb cable outlets. 

In recent years the group has suffered operational setbacks as an increasing number of Al-Badr militants have been killed while attempting to cross from Pakistan into Kashmir. In 2005, nine top commanders were either captured or killed by Indian security forces. The group called on Pakistan to "concentrate upon strengthening jihad instead of wasting further time seeking a negotiated settlement."

Al-Badr has found it increasingly difficult to raise funds and many of its training camps have closed. However, some Indian intelligence officials believe that Pakistan's ISI is still providing funding and logistical support to the group. In addition, Indian intelligence services are still investigating links between Al-Badr and Al-Qaida. Despite the recent increase in raids by Indian forces and an apparent downturn in operational capability, Al-Badr appears to be regrouping.

Al-Badr is a name that has been used over time by different groups with several distinct iterations operating in different countries in the South Asian region. The battle of Badr was a famous victory in the history of early Islam and is often invoked by militants throughout the Muslim world. Al-Badr first appeared in Pakistan in 1971, reportedly with the backing of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Al-Badr was accused of participating in the massacre of 10,000 ethnic Bengali intellectuals in East Pakistan during the civil war there. (The area is now Bangladesh.) After the war ended, Al-Badr essentially disappeared for almost 20 years. A group bearing the same name reappeared in the late 1980s in Afghanistan, operating as part of Hizb-e-Islami, one of the most radical of the anti-Soviet Afghan mujihadeen. This group was an ally of Pakistan's ISI. In 1989, ISI helped Al-Badr become a new organization under the leadership of Ahsan Dar, the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). It is unknown if the Afghan version of Al-Badr had any ties to the group's first iteration.

In 1989, the use of the Al-Badr name re-emerged as the designation of a smaller group under the leadership of a Pakistani Kashmiri known as Lukmaan. The stated goals of this new iteration of Al-Badr are to strengthen the "Kashmiri freedom struggle" and to liberate Kashmir and merge it with Pakistan. The current leaders and members are Pakistanis who received training in Afghanistan and Waziristan and have since waged jihad in Kashmir.

The present chief commander of Al-Badr is Bakht Zamin (Khan), a staunch militant opposed to any cessation in violence in Kashmir. Al-Badr has continued as an active group in the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir. Reports of Al-Badr killings and attacks, as well as of security forces killing and capturing Al-Badr operatives, occur on a regular basis.

India's security forces continued a crackdown in the Kashmir region during 2008 and 2009. However, several groups, including Al-Badr, remained active and continued sporadic attacks.

August: Al-Badr called for a national jihad fund-raising campaign despite a government ban on such activities. The group set up collection points at different congregations in major cities, including Karachi.

September: The Al-Badr Sindh chapter leader vowed that Al-Badr would not allow the U.S. to launch any attack against the Taliban. He recalled that the mujahideen and Pakistanis fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and were prepared to mount similar challenges against the U.S.

August: Pakistan President Pervaiz Musharraf ordered a crackdown on the infiltration of militants into Kashmir. However, the regional commander of Al-Badr Mujahedin told Newsweek that the group was still recruiting new members and that other groups were doing so as well.

October: State police in Mysore arrested two alleged Al-Badr members. The authorities said that they were an advance team trying to set up a forward base in southern India for terrorist attacks.

February: There were accusations that Al-Badr and other terrorist groups were playing the stock market in India. The groups were said to be manipulating the markets to raise funds for their radical activities.

April: An Al-Badr divisional commander was killed by troops in Srinagar. Authorities said the terrorists were regrouping for attacks when the government's administration was shifted from Jammu to Srinagar.

July: Five additional arrests were made in a counterfeit currency conspiracy involving Al-Badr members. Indian authorities accused Pakistan's ISI of involvement.

Dec. 27: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi. The suicide bomber was reportedly identified as an Al-Badr member, as were others arrested in connection with the plot.

March 2: Two Al-Badr militants, including a district commander, were killed during a skirmish with security forces in the Budgam district.

April 9: Three Al-Badr militants were killed by security forces in Kupwara; one was identified as a company commander who had allegedly killed two local constables.

May 23: Security personnel arrested an Al-Badr militant, identified as Mohammad Ashraf Bhat (alias Jamshed), in the Pulwama district. Police recovered a pistol, ammunition and two hand grenades.

July 20: Police killed two militants during a search operation in the the Bandipora district. One belonged to the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba militant group, the other to the Al-Badr group.

Sept. 3: Police arrested two locally trained militants belonging to Al-Badr and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba from the Wader and Mawar areas of Handwara.

Oct. 12: Police in Jammu and Kashmir arrested two high-ranking Al-Badr militants in Kupwara. Security forces also recovered automatic rifles, ammunition and grenades.

Oct.25: Security forces in the Kupwara district arrested two militants, one affiliated with Al-Badr and the other with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. The militants were planning to carry out grenade attacks during upcoming elections.

March 20: Police detained a Pakistani militant in Kolkata while he was purchasing a railway ticket. Under questioning, the suspect admitted to an affiliation with Al-Badr. A local court remanded the militant to the police.

Aug. 23: Police arrested a top Al-Badr leader in Sopore, Kashmir. The militant, Zeenat ul Islam Sha, was the chief commander of an Al-Badr unit. Police said Zeenat had been involved in the kidnapping and the killing of two local policemen in 2008.

Sept: 1: Three police officers and a civilian woman were killed when militants fired at a patrol at Sopore in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Al-Badr took responsibility for the attack. Two police AK-47 rifles were reported missing.