Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
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The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), also known as the Islamic Party of Turkestan (IPT), is an Islamic terrorist organization within the Islamic Movement of Central Asia that has operated in and beyond Uzbekistan since 1998.[1] The IMU's goal is to overthrow the Government of Uzbekistan and replace it with an Islamic State. The IMU allegedly changed its name to the Islamic Movement of Turkestan in 2001, but this is disputed.[2]
Juma Namangani headed the IMU until U.S.-led forces killed him in Afghanistan.[3] Tohir Yuldeshev, current head of the IMU, is said to be hiding in Waziristan. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
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[edit] History
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The IMU kidnapped four U.S. citizens in August 2000 in the Kara-Su Valley, Kyrgyzstan. IMU held them hostage until they escaped on 12 August.[4]
In September 2002 the United States classified the IMU as an Foreign Terrorist Organization.[5] In the same month an aide to Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, the Foreign Minister of the Taliban, stated he had been sent 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 information the aide received allegedly came from Yuldashev.[6]
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 on 29 October 2003. Jones said the greatest threats to the Central Asian states were the IMU, and Hizb ut-Tahrir, which praises attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. She 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."[7]
The Government of Russia banned the movement under the name "Islamic Party of Turkestan" in 2006.[8]
On 7 August 2006 Kyrgyz special forces killed Rafik Kamalov, an alleged leader of the movement, in the Kyrgyz border town of Kara-Suu.[9].
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 Turkmenistan] is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan," and that Uzbek secret services manufactured the change in name. Juraqulov also said that the IMT is 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."[2]
The IMU tried to assassinate Uzbek President Islom Karimov twice in February 1999. In July 2004 the IMU set off car bombs outside the embassies of Israel and the U.S. in Tashkent.[10]
The Tajik Government wants 23 suspected IMU members who Tajik authorities say attacked supporters of Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov on 28 September 2006, wounding two people.[2]
In March 2007 local Pakistani and reportedly Arab militants turned against the IMU in the Wana conflict.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
- ^ a b c Tajik Official Says Uzbeks Invented Regional Terror Group RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
- ^ Central Asia beyond Namangani Central Asia-Caucus Institute
- ^ Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003: A Brief Chronology United States Department of State
- ^ Redesignation of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan as a Foreign Terrorist Organization U.S. Department of state
- ^ Taleban 'warned US of huge attack' BBC News
- ^ U.S.: Diplomat sees growing terrorism challenge in Central Asia RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
- ^ 'Terror' list out; Russia tags two Kuwaiti groups Arab Times
- ^ Popular Kyrgyz imam shot dead BBC BBC News
- ^ Radical Islamic activity in Uzbekistan Internet Haganah
| Groups designated as terrorist organizations by the Government of Kazakhstan |
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| Asbat an-Ansar · Muslim Brotherhood · Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami · Boz Kurt · Jamaat of Central Asian Mujahedins · East Turkestan Liberation Organization · Kurdistan Workers Party · Al-Qaeda · Aum Shinrikyo · Social Reforms Society · Taliban · Lashkar-e-Toiba · Islamic Party of Eastern Turkestan · Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan |
