Islamist terrorist groups: who they are and where they are banned

The short answer. Islamist terrorist groups are armed organisations that use terrorism to impose their own version of Islamic rule. The four deadliest in 2025 were Islamic State, JNIM, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and al-Shabaab, which together caused 70% of the world's terrorism deaths.¹ Britain, the United States and Australia each keep their own banned list, and the three lists do not fully agree.^{2 3 4}

Key facts #

• Islamic State, JNIM, the TTP and al-Shabaab caused 3,869 deaths in 2025, or 70% of the world total, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2026.¹
• The UK list, updated 7 July 2026, names 84 proscribed organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000, plus 14 Northern Ireland groups banned under earlier laws.²
• The US State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) had 100 entries when checked in October 2026. It includes the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood (announced 13 January, effective 14 January 2026) and the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood (16 March 2026).³
• Australia lists 31 terrorist organisations. By our count 26 are Islamist, four are far-right and one is the Kurdish PKK. The government page was last updated on 27 June 2025.⁴
• Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), once al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, left the US list on 8 July 2025 and the UN sanctions list on 27 February 2026. Australia's page still lists it.^{3 5 4}
• UN monitors have named Saif al-Adl as al-Qaeda's de facto leader, reported to be in Iran, and the 2026 report calls al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) the "vanguard" of the movement.⁵
• The Afghan Taliban govern Afghanistan and are on none of the three lists, but the UN says they continue to support the TTP.⁵

What is an Islamist terrorist group? #

An Islamist terrorist group uses terrorism to build a state or society run on its own reading of Islamic law. Islamism is a political ideology, not the religion itself; see our guide to Islamism and the jihad guide.

Most Muslims reject these groups, and Muslims are their main victims. Where victims' religion could be identified, Muslims suffered 82% to 97% of terrorism deaths between 2007 and 2011, according to US government figures.⁶ The Global Terrorism Index guide has more.

"Islamic extremist terrorist groups", "jihadist groups" and "Islamist groups" are overlapping labels. "Jihadist" means an Islamist group that fights an armed jihad. Not every Islamist organisation does that. One simple way to sort the violent ones (our own grouping, not an official one):

• Global jihadists such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda, who want a caliphate or a worldwide Islamic order. See the caliphate guide and Salafism and jihadism.
• Local insurgents such as the TTP, JNIM, al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, who fight to rule a territory under Sharia.
• Nationalist Islamists such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, who join an Islamic aim to a territorial cause.
• Shia groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, who are linked to Iran.

Which are the main Islamist terrorist groups in 2026? #

Twelve names matter most in October 2026.

Which groups are banned in Britain, the US and Australia? #

No group is banned everywhere. The three countries use different legal tools: "proscribed" in Britain, "Foreign Terrorist Organization" (FTO) in the United States and "listed terrorist organisation" in Australia. The table shows the date each country listed the group.^{2 3 4}

Three points explain most of the differences. The US also keeps a wider sanctions list, Specially Designated Global Terrorists, separate from the FTO list. Britain once banned only the "military wing" of Hamas and Hezbollah and now bans both whole, while Australia lists both whole organisations. And lists change: the US listed the Houthis on 19 January 2021, removed them on 16 February 2021 and listed them again on 5 March 2025.³

What is on the UK list of proscribed terrorist organisations? #

The UK list names 84 groups banned under the Terrorism Act 2000, and the Home Secretary can add a group if it is "concerned in terrorism" and a ban is proportionate. The test covers groups that commit terrorism, prepare for it, or promote or encourage it, including by glorifying it.²

Belonging to a proscribed group, or inviting support for it, can bring up to 14 years in prison. Wearing its clothing or displaying its symbols in public carries up to six months.² Groups can be removed, as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group was in November 2019.²

The list is not only Islamist. It also names the neo-Nazi National Action, Sonnenkrieg Division and Feuerkrieg Division, the PKK, the Tamil Tigers, the Wagner Group (September 2023) and Palestine Action (July 2025).² For the British picture in full, see our guide to Islamist terrorism in the UK.

What are the main terrorist groups in the Middle East? #

The main Islamist groups in the Middle East are Islamic State, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Hamas is based in Gaza, and the UK government says its ideology is "related to that of the Muslim Brotherhood combined with Palestinian nationalism".² Hezbollah and the Houthis are Shia. For the network around Iran, see our guide to Hezbollah and Iran's armed proxies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are a state force, so they sit in a separate legal category. The US listed the IRGC as an FTO on 15 April 2019.³ Australia listed it as a "state sponsor of terrorism" on 27 November 2025, after ASIO assessed that it had orchestrated attacks on Jewish targets in Sydney in October 2024 and Melbourne in December 2024.¹¹ It is not on the UK list.²

Which terrorist groups are banned in Australia? #

Australia has 31 listed terrorist organisations. By our count 26 are Islamist or jihadist, four are far-right (National Socialist Order, Sonnenkrieg Division, Terrorgram and The Base), and one is the Kurdish PKK.⁴

The Islamist entries include Islamic State and six regional branches, al-Qaeda and three branches, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, JNIM, HTS, Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Ansar Allah. The TTP and the Taliban are not listed. A listing now continues indefinitely unless the Australian Federal Police Minister ends it. The page we checked was last updated on 27 June 2025.⁴

A separate "prohibited hate group" power exists. Hizb ut-Tahrir was listed under it on 6 March 2026 and White Australia on 16 May 2026.¹² Two jihadist gunmen killed 15 people at Bondi Beach, Sydney, in December 2025, according to the Global Terrorism Index.¹ See Islamism and terrorism in Australia.

Is every Islamist organisation a terrorist group? #

No, and the lists show why governments disagree.

• The Muslim Brotherhood. The US announced the Lebanese chapter's FTO designation on 13 January 2026 and sanctioned the Egyptian and Jordanian chapters for supporting Hamas.¹³ The Treasury accepts that the Brotherhood claims to have renounced violence, but says these branches still glorify terrorism.¹⁴ Britain and Australia have not listed it. See the Muslim Brotherhood guide.
• Hizb ut-Tahrir. The UK calls it an international Sunni Islamist political organisation that wants a caliphate. Britain banned it in January 2024 because its websites praised the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, which meets the "promotes and encourages" test.²
• The Taliban. They govern Afghanistan and are not on the FTO list. In 2017 a State Department spokesperson pointed to a 2002 US order labelling them a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. VOA reported that this label targets financial dealings, while FTO status also bans "material support".¹⁵
• Not every listed group is Islamist. Britain and the US both list the Balochistan Liberation Army, which seeks an independent Baloch homeland.^{2 3}

Muslims also stand against these groups. In 2015 Pew found that no more than 15% of people in any Muslim-majority country it polled had a favourable view of Islamic State.⁷

Questions people ask #

What are the main Islamist terrorist groups? #

In October 2026 the main groups are Islamic State, al-Qaeda and its branches, JNIM in the Sahel, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Islamic State, JNIM, the TTP and al-Shabaab were the deadliest in 2025, causing 70% of the world's terrorism deaths, says the Global Terrorism Index.

What is the difference between Islamist and jihadist groups? #

Islamist describes a political aim: to organise state and society by a particular reading of Islamic law. Jihadist describes groups that use armed violence for that aim, in the name of jihad, such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Every jihadist group is Islamist, but not every Islamist organisation uses violence.

Which terrorist groups are banned in the UK? #

Britain has proscribed 84 organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000, many of them Islamist or jihadist, plus 14 Northern Ireland groups under earlier laws. They include Islamic State, al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Pakistani Taliban. Belonging to one, or inviting support for it, can bring up to 14 years in prison. The Home Office list was last updated on 7 July 2026.

Which terrorist groups are banned in Australia? #

Australia lists 31 terrorist organisations. By our count 26 are Islamist, including Islamic State and its regional branches, al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, JNIM, Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Ansar Allah. Four are far-right and one is the PKK. Neither the Pakistani Taliban nor the Afghan Taliban is listed. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned separately as a prohibited hate group.

Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation? #

Not everywhere. The United States has designated the Lebanese and Sudanese chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and sanctioned the Egyptian and Jordanian chapters for supporting Hamas. Britain and Australia have not banned the Brotherhood. The movement says it has renounced violence, and the US Treasury says the designated branches still glorify terrorism. Governments therefore treat different branches differently.

Is the Taliban a terrorist group? #

It depends who is asked. The Afghan Taliban govern Afghanistan and are not on the UK proscribed list, the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list or Australia's list. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) is a separate group, banned in Britain and the United States. UN monitors say the Afghan Taliban support the TTP, which the Taliban publicly deny.

Related guides #

• Islamist terrorism worldwide: the global picture in 2026 and an index of all our guides.
• Islamic State (ISIS) in 2026: leadership, strength and the African branches.
• Al-Qaeda and its affiliates: AQAP, JNIM, al-Shabaab and the new generation.
• Global Terrorism Index 2026: the deaths, countries and groups in the data.
• The Muslim Brotherhood: goals, entryism and the bans.
• Hezbollah and Iran's armed proxies: the network around Tehran.

Cite as: The Analyst, "Islamist Terrorist Groups: List, Status and Bans, 2026", Fighting Islamists, updated 13 October 2026. https://fightingislamists.com/terrorist-groups.html

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