Lashkar-e-Omar
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Lashkar-e-Omar (The Army of Omar)[1] is an Islamic fundamentalist militant organisation. The group, which was formed in January 2002, is a mixture of elements from three other groups: Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed.[citation needed] It also includes members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Its reported mission is to attack Americans in Pakistan.[citation needed] The current leader is Qari Abdul Hai, also known as Qari Asadullah alias Talha.[citation needed]
Several events have been linked to the group. It was reportedly behind a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad on 17 March 2002, which resulted in five deaths and 41 injuries.[citation needed] A couple of months later on 8 May a suicide bomber detonated outside a Sheraton hotel in Karachi.[citation needed] Again in Karachi 10 people were killed when the US consulate was attacked on 14 June. Finally on 28 October 2002, a church in Bahawalpur in Punjab, was attacked by six gunmen, killing 17 Christians and a police officer.[citation needed] Some of its members are also allegedly connected to the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl.[citation needed]