Overview

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) was founded in mid-1990s in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The group’s original goal was the removal of the current Uzbek government in order to establish an Islamic state, although since Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the IMU has extended its objective to establish an Islamic caliphate in Turkistan, the region stretching from the Caucasus to western China.
In 1991, Juma Namangani and Tohir Yoldashev established the Adolat (justice) movement which set up Islamic law, or Sharia, in one of Uzbekistan’s largest cities. The two future leaders of the IMU used this system as an excuse to exact vigilante on those Muslims they deemed operating outside the realm of Sharia, and were soon outlawed by the current Uzbek administration. Fleeing to Tajikistan to fight in the civil war during 1992, as well as other countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, Yoldashev made contacts with various support agencies, including Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.[1] In 1998, Yoldashev established a home base in Afghanistan, while Namangani settled in Tajikistan. The group is close to both the Taliban and al Qaeda, and leaders have also held positions in the AQ chain of command.[2]

The IMU is considered a known terrorist group by Tajikistan authorities, and their movements are closely monitored. They were designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in September 2000. Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, the IMU has been active in insurgency operations against U.S. and coalition security forces. Uzbek authorities have suspected the group’s involvement in violent attacks in the region since 2004, although it is unknown if the group has a significant presence in the country.
Some rumors suggest that the organization disbanded in 2004 when Najmiddin Jalolov left the IMU to form his own group, the Islamic Jihad Group, with a contingency of IMU followers. While Yoldashev is still the alleged leader of the IMU, Pakistani sources reported his death in a U.S. drone strike in Waziristan in October 2009. While media pointed to his successor as either Usman Jan or a man referred to only as Abdurakhman, there was conflicting evidence as to Yoldashev’s death.  

Structure

Prior to their disorganization in 2001, the IMU’s structure was seemingly organized, yet simple. The guerilla group was led by a military commander who controlled units of 40 to 50 men, known as brigades, each headed by a division-level leader. After their near dissolution, reports of the IMU’s known organizational structure are limited. Analysts believe that small groups of 25 to 30 fighters operated under the authority of Tohir Yoldashev.[2]

Arsenal

The IMU utilizes grenade launchers, AK-47s, sniper rifles, and other various tactical equipment such as silencers and night-vision goggles.[2] 

Funding

Both the IMU and its splinter organization, the Islamic Jihad Union, receive funds and logistical support from Hizbut Tahrir in Tajikistan. In the past, they were known to act as drug traffickers for opium controlled by the Taliban, and even now are in charge of security posts on the northern Afghani borders in exchange for financing and weapons.[3] The majority of their current funding is derived from an extensive Uzbek Diaspora, businessmen throughout the Middle East and South and Central Asia, as well as from other terrorist groups.[4] 

Recruitment

The IMU, similar to other terrorist groups, attracts young, disaffected youth from poverty-stricken areas in Uzbekistan and other areas of operation. The organization recruits young men from various ethnic groups, including Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Chechens, Uighurs, and Germans. Estimates of group size have ranged from 1,500 to 5,000 militants. 

Tactics

Typical IMU attacks include bombings, ambushes, raids on security force facilities, assassinations, and hostage-taking/kidnapping for ransom and intimidation. Most of the recent activity attributed to IMU militants has been bombings and ambush attacks in Pakistan, as well as counter-attacks to security force operations in Tajikistan. In one of its more notable incidents, the IMU was responsible for plotting a bombing attack against the U.S. Embassy and a hotel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in May 2003. In January 2008, the leader of IMU, Yoldashev, appeared in a video with an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist, Abdul Khaliq Haqqani, vowing to wage jihad in Pakistan against security forces in order to seize control of Islamabad.

Gallery

References

1. IHS Janes. (2010, March 1). Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Jane’s World Insurgency and Terrorism.
2. Australian Government. (n.d.). What governments are doing: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Retrieved from [1]
3. Australian Government. (n.d.). What governments are doing: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Retrieved from [2]
4. US Department of State. (2009, April). Chapter 8: Other groups of concern. Country reports on terrorism 2008.
5. Retrieved from [3]
6. Retrieved from [4]
7. Osmonaliyev, M. (2010, November 30). Central Asia Online. Retrieved from [5]
8. Retrieved from [6]
9. Retrieved from [7]