Daesh is a transnational Salafi-jihadist armed group that controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria at the height of its power in 2015. Daesh is considered to be one of the most dangerous, heavily armed, well funded and well trained Salafi-jihadist organisations in history. It is still seen as a major threat to the national security of many countries in West Asia, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and South-East Asia. In addition to its transnational aspirations to capture, hold and control territory and populations in the Muslim world, Daesh also calls on its lone-wolf followers living in non-Muslim countries to conduct terror attacks. Since 2014, Daesh has been responsible for some of the worst terrorist atrocities in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The Houthi movement is a heavily armed extremist group based in Yemen. It is a well-organized force that controls 13 of the country’s 21 governorates, where roughly 70% of the population resides. The Houthis – or Ansar Allah (Partisans of God) as they refer to themselves – are predominantly Zaidi Shiites. The group came to global prominence when it toppled the internationally recognized government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile in Saudi Arabia. The movement has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Its random shelling, rocket attacks and planting of explosive devices has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians

Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is the most influential Islamist movement in the world. It aims to establish a pan-Islamic state (Caliphate) reuniting Muslim countries under one Islamist leadership. The organization strongly believes it should deploy the necessary efforts not only to rule according to Sharia law but also to Islamize society, laws, governance, and all aspects of life. The group is the inspirational source for almost all violent Islamist organizations in existence today. The extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood is behind the violence perpetuated in the name of religion across the Muslim world and beyond. Its fundamentalist interpretation of Islam has directly influenced hundreds of jihadist leaders in the past 60 years. The jihadism of terrorist leaders such as Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri and Abdullah Azzam’s was rooted in theological framework provided by the Muslim Brotherhood.