TERRORIST GROUPS
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM)
( AS OF DECEMBER 2024 )
OVERVIEW
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), meaning Army of Mohammad, is a Pakistan-based Sunni terrorist group that seeks to establish Pakistani sovereignty over Kashmir and drive India from the region. JEM was formed in 2000 by terrorists who split from the Pakistan-based group Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM). JEM conducts attacks in India and India-administered Kashmir. After the group’s attack in 2019 in Pulwama, India increased tensions between India and Pakistan, the Pakistani Government has pressured JEM to reduce its operations and integrate into Pakistani society. Nonetheless, the group has continued to carry out occasional attacks. JEM also fought with the Taliban against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2001 until the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
OPERATING AREA
Afghanistan, Indian Kashmir, and Pakistan (headquartered in Punjab Province)
MEMBERS
About 500
TACTICS AND TARGETS
JEM uses suicide bombers, car bombs, small arms, light and heavy machineguns, IEDs, and rocket-propelled grenades in attacks. It primarily targets Indian security personnel, bases, camps, convoys, and government buildings.
TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated JEM as a foreign terrorist organization in December 2001.
KEY LEADERS
Masood Azhar
Founder; amir
Abdul Rauf Asghar
Deputy amir; brother of Masood Azhar
NOTABLE ATTACKS
15 July 2024
Doda District, Jammu, India
Terrorists attack Indian Army personnel, killing four Indian soldiers. The Kashmir Tigers, a proxy organization for JEM, claim the attack.
8 July 2024
Kathua District, Jammu, India
Terrorists using small arms and grenades ambush an Indian Army convoy, killing five soldiers and wounding five more. The Kashmir Tigers claim the attack.
14 February 2019
Pulwama, Kashmir, India
A suicide bomber drives a car bomb into an Indian paramilitary convoy, killing at least 40 people in one of the deadliest attacks ever in Kashmir. The attack brings India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
2 January 2016
Pathankot Air Force Station, Punjab State, India
Six terrorists armed with AK-47s and grenades attack an Indian Air Force installation, killing seven people and wounding 20 during a 12-hour gunfight with security personnel.
1 October 2001
Srinagar, Kashmir, India
JEM conducts its first attack in India-administered Kashmir, detonating a car bomb outside the state assembly building and engaging in a shootout with Indian security forces, killing 31 people and injuring six.