Wilderness Survival Foreign Terrorist Organizations Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
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| Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) |
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| Wednesday, 06 October 2004 | |
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Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Goals and Objectives. The IMU is a radical Islamic organization seeking to overthrow secular rule in Uzbekistan. The group reportedly also seeks Islamic rule in other Central Asian countries and to fight against those it deems enemies of Islam. Favored Tactics. The IMU has primarily used bombings and armed guerilla warfare. Brief History. The IMU was formed in Afghanistan by radical Islamic opponents of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who is accused of brutally repressing opposition to his rule and suppressing Islam. However the roots of the IMU go back as far as December 1991, when the mayor of the eastern city of Namangan refused to grant a group of young Muslims land on which to build a Mosque, and the men seized the Communist Party headquarters. The men were led by Tohir Abdouhalilovitch Yuldeshev, and Jumaboi Ahmadzhanovitch Khojaev (alias Juma Namangani). Yuldeshev was a 24-year-old college drop-out and mullah in the Islamic underground movement. Khojaev was a former Soviet paratrooper who apparently had his Muslim faith revitalized while fighting against the mujahidin while he served in Afghanistan. Under intense government pressure, Yuldashev fled Uzbekistan, was given refuge in Afghanistan by the Taliban, and began networking with Islamic groups. Namangani made a name for himself as a bold fighter in the Tajik civil war. In 1996, the two men announced the formation of the IMU, and reportedly helped the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, even leading troops in battle. From bases in Tajikistan, the group launched a terror campaign against the Uzbek government. Because of tight security, the group has generally been unable to operate in Uzbekistan and has been more active in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of the group’s leaders, including Namangani, were killed or captured during the U.S.-led war against the Taliban in 2001.Favored Tactics. The IMU has primarily used bombings and armed guerilla warfare. Anti-American Activities. In August 2000, the IMU kidnapped four American mountain climbers, who escaped after pushing their IMU guard off a cliff. The IMU also fought alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in late 2001. Areas of Operation. The IMU operates throughout Central and South Asia, especially in the Ferghana Valley, where the Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik borders converge. The group is known to have operated in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Strength and Composition. The U.S. State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2002, estimates that the IMU probably now has fewer than 1,000 militants.Before the U.S.-led war against the Taliban, which badly hurt the group, the IMU was believed to have had closer to 2,000 members.172 Connections With Other Terrorist Organizations. IMU leaders are believed to have formed ties to Al Qaeda while both were based in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. IMU members are believed to have trained at Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban. State Supporters and Other Sources of Funding. The IMU received support from other Islamic extremist groups as well as from sympathizers in the Middle East and South Asia. Before the post-9/11 crackdown, Al Qaeda is believed to have been a major supporter of the IMU. The group is reportedly heavily involved in the Central Asian opium trade; by one account, the group handles 70 percent of opium trafficking in the region. Originally Designated as an FTO. September 25, 2000. Re-designated. September 25, 2002. Issues of Concern for Congress. This group could play a role in impeding the success of the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the future stability of a post- Taliban state. Although the IMU was seriously damaged during military hostilities against the Taliban regime, its role in the drug trade is of growing concern, as are its very close ties to Al Qaeda.
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