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Background [ edit ]

Adolat (1991–1992) [ edit ]

[ 15 ] Adolat assumed civil authority in Namangan and quickly established a degree of order and security through the imposition of Sharia Law, which was ruthlessly enforced by Adolat's vigilante cadres. Initially tolerated by the newly installed President Karimov, Adolat became increasingly assertive, culminating in a demand that Karimov impose Sharia throughout Uzbekistan. However, by 1992 Karimov had successfully cemented his authority in Tashkent , and was strong enough to outlaw Adolat and re-establish central control over the Fergana Valley region – traditionally one of the most Islamic regions in Central Asia.

Tajik Civil War (1992–1997) [ edit ]

IMU Formation (1998) [ edit ]

[ 15 ] In 1997 Rahmonov and Nuri signed a peace agreement which saw Rahmonov agree to sharing power with the IRPT. Disillusioned with the political concessions made by the Tajik Islamists, Yuldeshev and Namangani formed the IMU in 1998 with the aim of creating a militant Islamic opposition to Karimov in Uzbekistan. Receiving initial funding and assistance from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the IMU began moving towards the Afghan Taliban and away from their former and more moderate IRPT allies – who were in turn partially backing the ethnic-Tajik Ahmad Shah Massoud and his Northern Alliance against the Taliban.

[ 17 ] Nevertheless, Namangani maintained his base in Tajikistan's Tavildara Valley, and was able to recruit large numbers of disaffected youth from the Fergana Valley, where economic hardship and religious persecution were continuing under Karimov's authoritarian rule.

History [ edit ]

Initial operations in Central Asia [ edit ]

[ 15 ] In 1999 a series of explosions in the capital Tashkent were orchestrated in an unsuccessful attempt on Karimov's life. Karimov placed the blame on radical Wahhabi Islamists, and the IMU in particular – however this attribution remains disputed, and it is possible the assassination attempt was the work of rival political and regional elites. Irrespective of who was responsible, the result was an escalation in Karimov's suppression of Islam, particularly in the traditionally observant Fergana Valley – a move which only increased the number of those fleeing Uzbekistan to join up with Namangani and the IMU in the Tavildara Valley.

[ 15 ] Later that year the IMU conducted its first verifiable operations, with an incursion into the Batken region of southern Kyrgyzstan – a region populated mainly by ethnic Uzbeks, and lying between Tavildara in Tajikistan and the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. Insurgents seized the Mayor of Osh (the regional capital) and successfully extorted a ransom from the ill-prepared Kyrgyz government in Bishkek , as well as a helicopter to transport them to Afghanistan. Further incursions into Batken followed, with one raid seeing a number of Japanese geologists kidnapped – although denied by Japan , their subsequent release almost certainly followed a significant ransom payment.

[ 15 ] These raids had a major impact in Central Asia, and resulted in considerable international pressure on Tajikistan, not least from Karimov, to expel the IMU from its base in the Tavildara Valley. The IRPT persuaded their former ally Namangani to abandon Tavildara in late 1999. Controversially, Namangani and his fighters were then flown from Tajikistan to northern Afghanistan in Russian military helicopters – a move which enraged Karimov, who claimed the Russians were aiding the IMU in an attempt to undermine Uzbekistan.

Expansion into Taliban-ruled Afghanistan [ edit ]

[ 18 ] The IMU established offices and training camps, and began expanding their recruitment of disaffected Uzbeks. In Afghanistan Yuldeshev was able to exploit the contacts he had made on his earlier travels to negotiate freedom of operation from the Taliban , in return for providing them with assistance in their battle with Massoud's Northern Alliance.The IMU established offices and training camps, and began expanding their recruitment of disaffected Uzbeks.

It is estimated in 2000 that the IMU was approximately 2000 strong, and in the spring they contributed around 600 fighters to the Taliban's offensive against Massoud, participating in the successful siege of Taloqan , where they fought alongside Bin Laden's 055 Brigade . The IMU also provided the Taliban with a useful degree of deniability – under pressure from China to expel Uighur militants the Taliban simply sent them north to the IMU's camps.

[ 19 ] In response, the United States classified the IMU as a [ 20 ] In August 2000 the IMU also kidnapped four U.S. mountain-climbers in the Kara-Su Valley of Kyrgyzstan , holding them hostage until they escaped on 12 August.In response, the United States classified the IMU as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

[ 15 ] Once again the raids were followed by a strategic retreat to Tavildara, and once again international pressure on the Tajik government saw Namangani agree to him and his men being flown by the Russians back to Afghanistan, where they arrived in January 2001.

By 2001 the connections between the IMU and the Taliban had become more overt – the media reported that Namangani had been appointed Deputy Defence Minister in the Taliban government, which the Taliban did not deny. In the spring the IMU again supplied the Taliban with 600 fighters for a renewed campaign against Massoud, while in Batken in Kyrgyzstan a number of sleepers armed the previous year executed a series of attacks.

Overthrow of the Taliban and retreat to Pakistan [ edit ]

[ 1 ] [ 22 ] Tensions grew with some locals however, with the Uzbeks accused by local Taliban leader [ 22 ] Members of the IMU began settling down in the region, with some starting families and becoming involved in local business. The group developed close ties with members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda who had also taken refuge in the region, often serving as bodyguards for senior commanders.Tensions grew with some locals however, with the Uzbeks accused by local Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir of disrespecting local customs, killing tribesmen, and involving themselves in local feuds. In early 2007, fighting broke out between Nazir’s fighters and the Uzbeks, which resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides and the expulsion of the IMU from much of South Waziristan

[ 26 ] IMU fighters first started to become active in Afghanistan in 2007, fighting in the [ 27 ] From 2010 the IMU began to expand its presence into northern Afghanistan, particularly in ethnic Uzbek areas in and around [ 28 ] IMU commanders in northern Afghanistan integrated into the Taliban's shadow government, exercising governance in areas where the Afghan government's presence was weak. [ 1 ] [ 29 ] The IMU became increasingly active in Afghanistan and was regularly cited as a terrorist threat by governments within and outside of the region.IMU fighters first started to become active in Afghanistan in 2007, fighting in the Taliban insurgency against Afghan and ISAF troops.From 2010 the IMU began to expand its presence into northern Afghanistan, particularly in ethnic Uzbek areas in and around Takhar Province IMU commanders in northern Afghanistan integrated into the Taliban's shadow government, exercising governance in areas where the Afghan government's presence was weak.

Organization and leadership [ edit ]

Membership [ edit ]

Leadership [ edit ]

Funding [ edit ]

Eurasia Critic to be involved in organized criminal activities such as controlling and facilitating drug smuggling. [ 45 ] The IMU is alleged by the United States of America to receive funding from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. [ 46 ] The IMU is alleged by the magazineto be involved in organized criminal activities such as controlling and facilitating drug smuggling.The IMU is alleged by the United States of America to receive funding from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Media [ edit ]

Claimed and alleged attacks [ edit ]

[ 49 ] [ 50 ] In 2008, a number of men were arrested in eastern France, the Netherlands and Germany, for allegedly raising funds for the IMU between 2003 and 2008. Nine out of the ten men were convicted on 8 January 2013 in a Paris court.

[ 52 ] A IMU suicide bomber was responsible for the December 2011 attack on the funeral of an Afghan government official in Takhar, killing 19 people, including Alhaj Mutalib Baig , an ethnic Uzbek Member of Parliament and former Tahkar Chief of Police.

[ 55 ] A video released by the IMU in April 2015 showed members of the group beheading a Hazara man, one of 31 people kidnapped from a bus in Afghanistan in February 2015. The men threatened to kill more hostages unless their comrades are released from Afghan jails.

Analysis [ edit ]

[ 56 ] In September 2002 an aide to Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil , the Foreign Minister of the Taliban , claimed he had been sent prior to 9/11 to warn the U.S. government of an impending attack and to persuade them to take military action against Al Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan. The aide claimed advance knowledge of the attack came from Yuldashev, which if true would indicate a high degree of cooperation between Al-Qaeda and the IMU.

[ 58 ] In 2003, A. Elizabeth Jones , the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, testified on the threat of terrorism in Central Asia before the U.S. House of Representatives ' subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, arguing that the greatest threats were the IMU, and Hizb ut-Tahrir . Jones said that despite the death of Namangani, the "IMU is still active in the region -- particularly in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan -- and it represents a serious threat to the region and therefore to our interests."

[ 48 ] Mahmadsaid Juraqulov, head of the anti- organized crime department in the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan , told reporters in Dushanbe on 16 October 2006 that the "Islamic Movement of Turkestan is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan," and that Uzbek secret services manufactured the change in name. Juraqulov also said that the IMT was not a major security threat to Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan . "Everyone knows that it is in Uzbekistan that [the IMU] wants to create problems. For them, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are just regrouping bases they're trying to reach."

[ citation needed ] Some analysts have asserted that rather than the image of a unified IMU under Namangani and Yuldeshev, it has always been an organization consisting of two poles – the radical, spiritual (Yuldeshev) and militant, criminal (Namangani).

Foreign Relations [ edit ]

Designation as a terrorist organization [ edit ]

Countries and organizations below have officially listed the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan as a terrorist organization.