View source for Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

{{Short description|Islamist Uzbek militant group in Asia}}
{{Infobox War Faction
| name             = Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
| war              = [[Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001)]]<br />[[War in North-West Pakistan]]<br />[[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)]], <br /> and the [[War on Terror]]
| image            = [[File:Flag of Jihad.svg|border|275px]]<br />[[File:AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg|border|275px]]
| allegiance       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Taliban.svg}} [[Taliban]] {{small|(until 2014)}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.afintl.com/en/202410090797|title=Many Jihadi Groups In Asia & Africa Pledge Allegiance To Taliban Leader, Group Sources|date=9 October 2024}}</ref><br/>{{flagicon image|AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg}} [[Islamic State]] <small>(2015–present by some factions)</small><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of al-Qaeda.svg}} [[Al-Qaeda]] <small>(2016–present by some factions)</small>
| caption          = [[Jihadist flag]]s used by the IMU and after allegiance to [[ISIS]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's Enduring Influence on IS-Khurasan |date=3 March 2023 |url=https://gnet-research.org/2023/03/03/the-islamic-movement-of-uzbekistans-enduring-influence-on-is-khurasan/ |publisher=Global Network on Extremism & Technology |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>
| active           = August 1998<ref name="cisac"/>–2015<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13357-the-imu-is-extinct-what-new-for-central-asias-jihadis?.html|title=The IMU is extinct: what next for Central Asia's jihadis?|website=cacianalyst.org}}</ref> 
<br />2016<ref name="imusplinter" />–present
| ideology         = '''Current:'''<br />[[Islamism]]<br />[[Pan-Islamism]]<br />[[Salafi Jihadism]]<br />[[Anti-Zionism]]<br />'''Historical:'''<br />Anti-[[Islam Karimov]]
| founders         = [[Tohir Yoʻldosh]]{{KIA}}<br />[[Juma Namangani]]{{KIA}}
| leaders          = [[Tohir Yoʻldosh]]{{KIA}}<br />[[Juma Namangani]]{{KIA}}<br />Abu Usman Adil<ref name="longwarjournal.org">{{cite web|title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan names Abu Usman as new leader|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/islamic_movement_of_2.php|work=The Long War Journal|date=17 August 2010}}</ref>{{KIA}}<br />[[Usman Ghazi]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{KIA}}<br />Samatov Mamasoli ({{small|[[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]]}} Abu Ali)
| motives          = Enforcement of [[Sharia]] in Uzbekistan and eventually a [[Caliphate|Central Asian Caliphate]]<ref name="ISW">{{cite web |url=http://www.understandingwar.org/tajikistan-and-afghanistan |title=Tajikistan and Afghanistan |publisher=Institute for the Study of War |access-date=2014-10-09 |quote=While the IMU still seeks to topple the Uzbek government, it now also wants to establish an Islamic Caliphate that spans Central Asia.}}</ref>
| headquarters     = [[Afghanistan]]<ref name="rferl1"/>
| area             = [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]] of [[Pakistan]]<br />Northern [[Afghanistan]]<ref name="rferl"/><br />[[Xinjiang region]] in [[China]]<ref name="The Diplomat">{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/chinas-nightmare-xinjiang-jihadists-go-global/|title=The Diplomat|date=17 August 2016|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref>
| successor        = [[File:Islamic State – Khurasan Province.svg|class=skin-invert|20px]] [[Khorasan Province (Militant Group)|Khorasan Province]] (Pro-ISIS faction only)<br /> {{flagicon image|Jamaat Ansarullah flag.svg}} [[Jamaat Ansarullah]] (Minority al-Qaeda faction)<ref>{{Cite web |author=Bruce Pannier |title=Northern Afghanistan and the New Threat to Central Asia - Foreign Policy Research Institute |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2022/05/northern-afghanistan-and-the-new-threat-to-central-asia/ |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.fpri.org |language=en-US |quote=}}</ref>
| size             = 200–300 (after 2015, reportedly 700 plus family members post 2016)<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bcf1f424.html |website=UNHCR |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref><br />~3,000 (2013)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/58014/1/report_the-radical-islamic-militants.pdf|title=The radical Islamic militants of central Asia}}</ref><br />500–1,000 (2004)<ref>{{cite web|title=Terrorist Organization Reference Guide |url=http://www.mipt.org/pdf/TerroristOrganizationReferenceGuide.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213131934/http://www.mipt.org/pdf/TerroristOrganizationReferenceGuide.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2006|date=13 December 2006}}</ref>
| split_to         = 
| partof           = 
| predecessor      = 
| allies           = * {{flagicon image|AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg}} [[Jundallah (Pakistan)|Jundallah]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Tehrik-i-Taliban.svg}} [[Pakistani Taliban]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Turkistan Islamic Party.svg}} [[Turkistan Islamic Party]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=42416&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=13&cHash=3537435877336eb86052d24d34622e98#.VDSR9ek9Imw|title=Beijing, Kunming, Urumqi and Guangzhou: The Changing Landscape of Anti-Chinese Jihadists|newspaper=Jamestown |publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]|date=23 May 2014}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Caucasian Emirate.svg}} [[Caucasus Emirate]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE01001E.shtml |title=QE.I.10.01. ISLAMIC MOVEMENT OF UZBEKISTAN |date=7 April 2011 |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=10 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609214145/http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE01001E.shtml |archive-date=June 9, 2013}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of al-Qaeda.svg}} [[Al-Qaeda]]  (1998–2015,<ref name="cisac"/> 2016–present by some factions) 
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Taliban.svg}} [[Taliban]] (1998–2015,<ref name="rferl1">{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-afghanistan-taliban-peacemaking-pitfalls/30126897.html|title=Uzbekistan Experiences The Pitfalls Of Peacemaking In Afghanistan|date=24 August 2019|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}</ref><ref name="cisac"/> 2016–present by some factions)<br/>{{flagicon image|AQMI Flag asymmetric.svg}} [[Islamic State]] (2015–present by some factions)
| opponents        = * {{flag|China}}<ref name="Dawn News">{{cite web|title=Three groups active in Xinjiang banned|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1051477/three-groups-active-in-xinjiang-banned|publisher=Dawn News|date=23 October 2013|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref>
* {{flag|India}}
* {{flag|Iran}}
* {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
* {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
* {{flag|Pakistan}}
* {{flag|Russia}}
* {{flag|Tajikistan}}
* {{flag|Turkmenistan}}
* {{flag|United States}}
* {{flag|Uzbekistan}}
| battles          = [[Batken conflict]]<br/>[[Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)]]<br />[[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]<br />[[Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]<br>[[Islamic State–Taliban conflict]]
| organizations    = Islamic Movement of Turkestan (The government of Tajikistan claims to be an alias)
| status           = 
| designated_as_terror_group_by = ''[[#Designation as a terrorist organization|See Section]]''
}}

The '''Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan''' ('''IMU'''; {{lang-uz-Cyrl-Latn|Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати|Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati}}; {{langx|ru|Исламское движение Узбекистана}}) was a militant [[Islamism|Islamist]] group formed in 1998<ref name="cisac">{{cite web|url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/islamic-movement-uzbekistan|title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan|work=Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC)|access-date=10 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Fires of Faith in Central Asia|journal= World Policy Journal|volume = 18|issue = 1|pages = 45–55|jstor = 40209731|last1 = Rashid|first1 = Ahmed|year = 2001|doi= 10.1215/07402775-2001-2001}}</ref> by [[Islam]]ic ideologue [[Tohir Yoʻldosh|Tahir Yuldashev]] and former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] paratrooper [[Juma Namangani]]; both ethnic [[Uzbeks]] from the [[Fergana Valley]]. Its original objective was to overthrow President [[Islam Karimov]] of [[Uzbekistan]] and create an [[Islamic state]] under [[Sharia]]; however, in subsequent years, it reinvented itself as an ally of [[Al-Qaeda]]. The group also maintained relations with Afghan [[Taliban]] in 1990s.<ref name="rferl1"/> However, later on, relations between the Afghan Taliban and the IMU started declining.<ref name="cisac"/>

Operating out of bases in [[Tajikistan]] and Taliban-controlled areas of northern [[Afghanistan]], the IMU launched a series of raids into southern [[Kyrgyzstan]] in the years 1999 and 2000. The IMU suffered heavy casualties in 2001–2002 during the American-led [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|invasion of Afghanistan]]. Namangani was killed, while Yuldeshev and many of the IMU's remaining fighters escaped with remnants of the Taliban to [[Waziristan]], in the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]] of [[Pakistan]]. The IMU then focused on fighting the [[War in North-West Pakistan order of battle|Pakistan Forces]] in the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|Tribal Areas]], and [[NATO]] and Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistan_IMU_Militants_Afghan_Border_Unrest/1181286.html|title=Pakistan Blames IMU Militants For Afghan Border Unrest|date=July 2, 2003
|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|first=Alisher|last=Sidikov|access-date=2008-07-03}}</ref><ref name=2011Report>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195553.htm#imu|title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2011|date=31 July 2012|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref>

In mid-2015, its leadership publicly pledged allegiance to the [[Islamic State|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIS) and announced that the IMU was part of the group's [[Islamic State – Khorasan Province|regional branch]].<ref name="imubayat">{{cite news|date=6 August 2015|title=IMU Declares It Is Now Part Of The Islamic State|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/imu-islamic-state/27174567.html|access-date=6 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="IMU joins ISIS" /> In 2016, it was reported that a new faction of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan emerged after the group became part of ISIS. The new faction retained the group's name and was independent of ISIS. It has also indicated that it is loyal to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and shared their views against ISIS.<ref name="imusplinter">{{cite web|date=2016-06-14|title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan faction emerges after group's collapse|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/06/islamic-movement-of-uzbekistan-faction-emerges-after-groups-collapse.php|access-date=2016-06-15|work=Long War Journal}}</ref>

==Background==
During the Soviet era, Islam in Central Asia was officially suppressed – [[mosques]] were closed, and all contact with the wider [[Muslim world]] was severed. This isolation ended with the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (1979–1989), when thousands of [[conscripts]] from [[Soviet Central Asia]] were sent to fight the Afghan [[mujahedin]]. Many of these conscripts returned home impressed by the Islamic zeal of their opponents, and newly aware of the religious, cultural and linguistic characteristics they shared with their neighbours in the South; and which distinguished them from their rulers in [[Moscow]].

===Adolat (1991–1992)===
One such soldier sent to fight in Afghanistan was the Uzbek paratrooper [[Juma Namangani]] (born 1969). Following the war, Khojayev returned to his hometown of [[Namangan]] in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley radicalized by his experiences, and became associated with a local Islamic ideologue, Tohir Yuldashev (born 1967). In the period of initial instability that followed Uzbekistan's sudden independence in 1991, Yuldeshev and Khojayev (now adopting the ''[[Pseudonym|nom de guerre]]'' [[Juma Namangani]]) established a radical [[Salafi movement|Salafi]] Islamist group in Namangan which they called Adolat (Justice).<ref name=ny>[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/01/14/020114fa_FACT They're Only Sleeping – Why militant Islamicists in Central Asia aren't going to go away] – ''The New Yorker'', January 14, 2002</ref>

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.<ref name=ny />

===Tajik civil war (1992–1997)===
Evading arrest, Yuldashev and Namagani fled to Tajikistan, where civil war was raging following a bloody but successful coup led by [[Emomali Rahmon]]ov earlier in 1992. The civil war pitted Rahmonov's neo-communist forces against a loose coalition of democrats and Islamists known as the [[United Tajik Opposition]] (UTO). The UTO was led by the widely popular and highly respected Islamist [[Sayid Abdulloh Nuri|Said Abdullah Nuri]], whose [[Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan]] (IRPT) advocated a moderate and democratic brand of Islamism.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1070492.html |title=Tajikistan: Influential Islamic Politician Remembered |date=10 August 2006 |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

Namangani's combat experience in Afghanistan saw him entrusted by the IRPT with the command of active units in the field, based out of the remote, mountainous Tavildara Valley region. He enjoyed considerable success in this role.<ref name=ny/> Meanwhile, Yuldashev left Tajikistan on a tour of Afghanistan, [[Turkey]] and the [[Middle East]], during which time he developed contacts with numerous Islamist groups. From 1995 to 1998 Yuldashev was based in [[Peshawar]] in Pakistan, where he established relations with [[Osama bin Laden]] and the [[Afghan Arabs]] based there at the time.<ref name=ny/>

===IMU formation (1998)===
In 1997 Rahmonov and Nuri signed a peace agreement which saw Rahmonov agree to sharing power with the IRPT. DISISlusioned with the [[concession (politics)|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. 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.<ref name=ny/>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/features/caii/features/main/2010/03/06/feature-01|title=IMU said to seek control over Central Asia|website=centralasiaonline.com}}</ref>

==History==

===Initial operations in Central Asia===
{{See also|Batken Conflict}}
In 1999 a [[1999 Tashkent bombings|series of explosions]] in the capital [[Tashkent]] were orchestrated in an unsuccessful attempt on Karimov's life. Karimov placed the blame on the 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.<ref name=ny />

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 that is 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 [[Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyz]] government in [[Bishkek]], as well as a helicopter to transport them to Afghanistan. Further incursions into Batken followed, with one raid resulted in a number of Japanese [[geologist]]s kidnapped. Although denied by [[Japan]], their subsequent release was reported to have followed the payment of a significant ransom.<ref name=ny />

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.<ref name=ny />

===Expansion into Taliban-ruled Afghanistan===
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.<ref name="ISW Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region">{{cite web |url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/BackgrounderIMU_28Jan.pdf|title=Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region |publisher=Institute for the Study of War |access-date=2014-10-16 |date=27 January 2011}}</ref> 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.

By the summer of 2000 Western and [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] intelligence sources claim the IMU were equipped  with more advanced weaponry such as [[sniper rifles]] and [[night-vision goggles]], and had been supplied with a pair of heavy transport helicopters by Bin Laden. Namangani led IMU fighters back to the [[Tavildara Valley]] in [[Tajikistan]], and from there launched multipronged attacks into [[Batken]] in [[Kyrgyzstan]], and also into northern Uzbekistan, close to Tashkent.<ref name=ny/>

In August 2000 the IMU also kidnapped four U.S. mountain-climbers ([[Tommy Caldwell]], [[Beth Rodden]], Jason "Singer" Smith, and John Dickey) in the Kara-Su Valley of [[Kyrgyzstan]], holding them hostage until they escaped on 12 August.<ref name=KIDNAPPING>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/5902.htm |title=Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003: A Brief Chronology |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |access-date=2007-08-28 }}</ref> In response, the United States classified the IMU as a [[Foreign Terrorist Organization]].<ref name=FTO>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/13708.htm |title=Redesignation of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan as a Foreign Terrorist Organization |first=Richard |last=Boucher |date=September 25, 2002 |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |access-date=2007-08-28|author-link=Richard Boucher }}</ref>

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.<ref name=ny/>

By 2001 the connections between the IMU and the Taliban had become more overt, with media reports of 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.

Uzbek government maintained contacts with Afghan Talibans during the final months of Taliban rule over Afghanistan. The contacts were aimed at convincing Talibans to hand over militants belonging to Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.<ref name="rferl1"/>

===Overthrow of Taliban rule===
Following the [[September 11 attacks|attacks of September 11, 2001]] and the American-led [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invasion of Afghanistan]], the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban,<ref>{{cite news |title=German, Afghan Offensive In North Targets IMU |date=2009-07-23 |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]  |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/German_Afghan_Offensive_In_North_Targets_IMU/1783999.html |access-date=2024-04-26}}</ref> with Namangani being killed in November 2001 by a U.S. airstrike in northern Afghanistan. In March 2002, Yuldashev and many IMU members are believed to have fought against Coalition forces during [[Operation Anaconda]] in Afghanistan's [[Shahi Kot Valley]], suffering heavy casualties before retreating to the [[Tribal Areas of Pakistan]].<ref name="ISW Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region"/>

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.<ref name=Jamestown14May>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4147|title=South Waziristan's Maulvi Nazir: The New Face of the Taliban|volume=5|issue=9|publisher=[[The Jamestown Foundation]]|first=Hassan|last=Abbas|newspaper=Jamestown |date=14 May 2007|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=Jamestown14May/>

Many of the retreating IMU members were sheltered by the local militant commander [[Baitullah Mehsud]], and when Mehsud turned against the Pakistani state and formed the [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]] (TTP) in 2007, the IMU cooperated closely with him.<ref name="jamestown26jan">{{cite news|title=The Indigenization of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan| newspaper=Jamestown |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38931&no_cache=1#.VD2XQ-k9Jy1 |publisher = [[The Jamestown Foundation]]|date=26 January 2012|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> The alliance between the two groups continued after [[Hakimullah Mehsud]] succeeded Baitullah as TTP leader in 2009,<ref name="isw27jan">{{cite web|title=Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region|url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/BackgrounderIMU_28Jan.pdf|publisher = [[Institute for the Study of War]]|date=27 January 2011|access-date=16 October 2014}}</ref> the IMU and the [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]] carried out joint attacks on the Pakistani State and eventually formed a combined unit called '''Ansar al-Aseer''', with the goal of freeing militant Islamist prisoners held in Pakistani prisons.<ref name=LWJ8>{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Roggio|date=5 February 2013|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/02/taliban_imu_form_ans.php|title=Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners|work=[[Long War Journal]]|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> Close ties were also formed with the militant [[Haqqani Network]] following the August 2009 killing of Yuldashev in a [[Drone attacks in Pakistan|US drone strike]], as the IMU's new leadership relocated the group to the Haqqani strongholds of [[Mir Ali, Pakistan|Mir Ali]] and [[Miranshah]] in [[North Waziristan]].<ref name="ISW Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region"/>

===Return to Afghanistan and later events===
The IMU became increasingly active in Afghanistan and was regularly cited as a terrorist threat by governments within and outside of the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KF18Ag01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620053155/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KF18Ag01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2009-06-20|title=Asia Times Online :: Central Asian News and current affairs, Russia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan|work=atimes.com}}</ref> IMU fighters first started to become active in Afghanistan in 2007, fighting in the [[Taliban insurgency]] against Afghan and ISAF troops.<ref>Countering the IMU in Afghanistan [http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/03/countering-the-imu-in-afghanis/ Countering the IMU in Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429191323/http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/03/countering-the-imu-in-afghanis/ |date=2011-04-29 }}</ref> From 2010 the IMU began to expand its presence into northern Afghanistan, particularly in ethnic Uzbek areas in and around [[Takhar Province]].<ref name=nthafghan>{{cite news|date=26 April 2013|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=40802&no_cache=1#.VDcxJek9Jy0|title=The IMU Expansion in Afghanistan's Takhar Province: Jumping Off Point to Central Asia?|work=[[Jamestown Foundation]]|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> IMU commanders in northern Afghanistan integrated into the Taliban's shadow government, exercising governance in areas where the Afghan government's presence was weak.<ref name="lwj26oct">{{cite web|title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander killed in Afghan north|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/islamic_movement_of_3.php|publisher = [[Long War Journal]]|date=26 October 2010|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

Haji Seyit Dawud, director of the Afghan media-resources center in [[Kabul]], claimed that the move to Afghanistan was natural as Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was much more likely to find support in Afghanistan than in Pakistan. In Pakistan they were declared as foreign terrorist and Pakistan Army was killing them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/islamic-movement-uzbekistan-roundtable/25405614.html|title=The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan: An Evolving Threat|date=31 May 2014|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}</ref>

In June 2014, the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] began a [[Operation Zarb-e-Azb|major military campaign]] against militant groups in North Waziristan, in the wake of the IMU and TTP's [[2014 Jinnah International Airport attack|attack on Jinnah International Airport]].<ref name="News International, 2014 editorial">{{cite news|last1=Khan|first1=Wajahat S|title=Zarb-e-Azb: Gear up for the 'forever war'|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-33451-Zarb-e-Azb-Gear-up-for-the-forever-war|work=A series of special reports on Operation Zarb-e-Azb by the newspaper's National Security Editor|agency=News International|publisher=News International, 2014 editorial|date=14 October 2014|access-date=13 March 2015 }}</ref><ref name="dawn">{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1112909/zarb-e-azb-operation-120-suspected-militants-killed-in-n-waziristan |title=Zarb-e-Azb operation: 120 suspected militants killed in N Waziristan |newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |date=15 June 2014 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703213609/http://www.dawn.com/news/1112909/zarb-e-azb-operation-120-suspected-militants-killed-in-n-waziristan |archive-date=3 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There were media reports in the following months that many IMU fighters and their families fled these military operations and moved to Afghanistan.<ref name="rferl11mar">{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-islamic-extremists-turkmenistan/26893845.html|title=Militant Melting Pot: Extremists Flourish South Of Turkmenistan
|work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=11 March 2015|access-date=13 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="wsj28jan">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/militants-driven-from-pakistan-flock-to-afghan-towns-1422490098|title=Militants Driven From Pakistan Flock to Afghan Towns
|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=28 January 2015|access-date=13 March 2015}}{{Subscription required}}</ref>

After a period of declining relations between Afghan Talibans and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), the group pledged its allegiance Islamic State (IS).<ref name="cisac"/>

IMU leader Usman Ghazi declared the group's support for the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIS) in September 2014,<ref name=support>{{cite news|title=Uzbek militants declare support for Islamic State|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1136578/uzbek-militants-declare-support-for-islamic-state/print|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=7 October 2014|work=AFP|quote="Hereby, on behalf of all members of our movement, in line with our sacred duties, I declare that we are in the same ranks with the Islamic State in this continued war between Islam and [non-Muslims]," Usman Gazi wrote in an online statement on Sept 26.|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> however it continued to cooperate closely with the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to Afghan government sources.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Overshadows Afghan Battlefield|url=http://gandhara.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-imu-role-in-fighting/27011645.html|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=12 May 2015|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> In March 2015, a group of IMU militants in northern Afghanistan, led by Sadulla Urgenji, released a video in which they stated they no longer view the Taliban's [[Mullah Omar]] as leader and pledged allegiance to ISIS's [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Afghanistan vows action after IS-style beheading video|url=https://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-vows-action-style-beheading-video-210436481.html|date=7 April 2015|work=AFP|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Uzbek Group In Afghanistan Pledge Allegiance To Islamic State|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/uzbek-group-in-afghanistan-behead-afghan-soldier/26928658.html|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=30 March 2015|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref> This was followed by another video in July 2015, in which Sheikh Muhammad Ali, identified as the IMU's spiritual leader, swears allegiance to ISIS.<ref name="IMU joins ISIS">{{cite news|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/74471|title=IMU Pledges Allegiance to Islamic State|work=EurasiaNet|date=1 August 2015}}</ref> In August 2015, a video was released by the group in which its leader, Usman Ghazi, leads IMU fighters in taking an oath of allegiance to ISIS and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Ghazi also stated that the group should now be considered as fighters for ISIS's Afghanistan branch, [[Khorasan Province (Militant Group)|Wilayat Khorasan]].<ref name=imubayat/> Following the pledge of allegiance, the Taliban launched an offensive against the IMU and forces loyal to dissident Taliban commander [[Mansoor Dadullah]] in Zabul Province, inflicting heavy casualties and effectively wiping out the group's presence in the province.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Islamic Movement Of Uzbekistan Comes Unraveled|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/qishloq-ovozi-islamic-movement-uzbekistan-fractured/27395160.html|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=28 November 2015|access-date=20 December 2015|quote=We saw reports from Afghanistan saying there were clashes and the main headquarters of the IMU, which joined to the Islamic State, was wiped out in Zabul Province.}}</ref><ref name=zabulclashes>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45163&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=495556a0aed49852488c1e15e1c12252#.VxIsJPl96Um|title=Wilayat Khorasan Stumbles in Afghanistan|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|date=3 March 2016|access-date=15 April 2016|quote="On December 9, an Islamic State supporter posted an Arabic-language statement on his Twitter account detailing the IMU's demise at the hands of the Taliban. According to this statement, the Taliban killed the remaining IMU fighters in Zabul, as well as Dadullah and 45 of his relatives."}}</ref>

In June 2016, a new faction of the IMU announced itself, denouncing ISIS and expressing its loyalty to the Taliban and al Qaeda.<ref name="imusplinter"/> The group's leader now is Samatov Mamasoli aka (Abu Ali). 
==Organization and leadership==

===Membership===

While IMU was originally an ethnic [[Uzbek people|Uzbek]] movement, its recruitment base expanded to include Central Asians ([[Afghans]], [[Tajik people|Tajiks]], [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]] and [[Turkmen people|Turkmens]]) and as well as [[Arab people|Arabs]], [[Chechen people|Chechens]] and [[Westerners]].<ref>[http://www.ema.gov.au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity.nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing_of_Terrorism_Organisations_Islamic_Movement_of_Uzbekistan What Governments are doing; Listing of Terrorism Organisations - Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731093140/http://www.ema.gov.au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity.nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing_of_Terrorism_Organisations_Islamic_Movement_of_Uzbekistan |date=July 31, 2013 }}</ref>

[[Hizb ut-Tahrir in Central Asia|Hizb ut-Tahrir]] and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan received Uyghur recruits from the diaspora in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.<ref name=Castets>{{cite journal |first=Rémi |last=Castets |title=The Uyghurs in Xinjiang – The Malaise Grows |journal=China Perspectives |publisher=French Centre for Research on Contemporary China |date=2003 |volume=49 |url=http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/648#tocto1n6}}</ref> The movement's goal is the takeover of [[Xinjiang]] and Central Asia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rohde |first1= David |last2=Chivers |first2= C. J.|date=March 17, 2002 |title=A Nation Challenged – Qaeda's Grocery Lists And Manuals of Killing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/17/world/a-nation-challenged-qaeda-s-grocery-lists-and-manuals-of-killing.html?pagewanted=3 |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> Uyghurs, Chechens, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups flocked to serve under IMU leader [[Juma Namangani]], who died in November 2001.<ref name="newyorker">{{cite magazine |first=Ahmed |last=Rashid |date=14 January 2002 |title=They're Only Sleeping: Why militant Islamicists in Central Asia aren't going to go away. |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/01/14/theyre-only-sleeping}}</ref>

A number of the IMU's senior leaders and ideologues have been non-Uzbeks, including its [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] former military commander, Abbas Mansur, and its [[Mufti]] (religious authority), [[Abu Zar al-Burmi]], a Pakistani national of Burmese [[Rohingya]] descent.<ref name="trends2014"/><ref name=fpnov12>{{cite news| url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/11/20/the-islamic-movement-of-uzbekistan-down-but-not-out/| title=The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan: Down but not out
 | date= 20 November 2012 | publisher=[[Foreign Policy]] | access-date=10 October 2014}}{{subscription required}}</ref> In 2011, of the 87 "martyrs" that the IMU listed on its website, only four were Uzbeks from Uzbekistan, while 64 were from Afghanistan, 10 from Tajikistan, six from Kyrgyzstan, and one each from Tatarstan, Germany and Pakistan.<ref name=trends2014>{{cite web
| first=Jacob
| last=Zenn
| title=On the Eve of 2014: Islamism in Central Asia
| url=http://www.hudson.org/research/9824-on-the-eve-of-2014-islamism-in-central-asia
| publisher=[[Hudson Institute]]
| date=2013-06-24
| access-date=2014-10-10
}}</ref>

One of the mouthpieces of IMU was [[Abu Dher al Barmi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/11/imu_cleric_urges_pak.php|title=IMU cleric urges Pakistanis to continue sheltering jihadis in Waziristan|last1=Roggio  |first1=Bill |date=November 23, 2011 |website=the Long War Journal}}</ref> He was IMU's mufti, joining and then leaving ISIS in a video called ({{langx|ar|المفتي ابو ذر عزام يتبرأ من تأييد تنظيم الدولة|Muftiy Abu Zar Azzom Davla jamoatidan bezor buldi}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/08/former-imu-cleric-denounces-islamic-state.php |title=Former IMU cleric latest to denounce Islamic State|last1=Roggio  |first1=Bill |date=August 30, 2016 |website=the Long War Journal}}</ref>

Afghan troops liquidated Ammar Sahib.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/04/imu_facilitator_kill.php |title=IMU facilitator killed during night raid in Afghan north |last=Roggio |first=Bill |date=April 12, 2012 |website=The Long War Journal|publisher=Foundation for Defense of Democracy}}</ref> Usman Ghazi, Abu Usman Adil, Tahir Yuldashev, and Juma Namangani were among the commanders of the IMU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/06/islamic-movement-of-uzbekistan-faction-emerges-after-groups-collapse.php |title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan faction emerges after group's collapse|last1=Roggio |first1=Bill |last2=Weiss |first2=Caleb |date=June 14, 2016 |website=The Long War Journal|publisher=Foundation for Defense of Democracy}}</ref>

===Leadership===
On 30 September 2009, a man claiming to be a bodyguard of Tahir Yuldashev reported that Yuldashev had been killed in a US missile airstrike that occurred shortly after the death of [[Pakistan Taliban]] chief [[Baitullah Mehsud]].<ref name=TheNews2009-09-30>{{cite news
| first=Rahimullah
| last=Yusufzai
| title=Tahir Yuldachev is dead: bodyguard
| url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=200845
| publisher=[[The News International]]
| date=2009-09-30
| access-date=2009-10-02
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610023518/http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=200845+
| url-status=dead
| archive-date=2022-06-10
}}</ref>
<ref name=TATY;>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=200845 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20091128155856/http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=200845 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 28, 2009 |access-date=September 30, 2009 |title = The News International: Latest News Breaking, Pakistan News}}</ref> The next day, Pakistan and US officials confirmed this report.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112122855/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C10%5C02%5Cstory_2-10-2009_pg7_8|url-status=dead|title=Daily Times - Latest Pakistan News, World, Business, Sports, Lifestyle|archivedate=January 12, 2012|website=Daily Times}}</ref> Almost a year later, the IMU website confirmed that Yuldashev had been killed on 27 August 2009 by a US [[General Atomics MQ-1 Predator|Predator]] drone strike in South Waziristan, and described him as a [[Shaheed]], or martyr.<ref name="lwj">{{cite web|title=Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan confirms leader Tahir Yuldashev killed
|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/islamic_movement_of_1.php| publisher = The Long War Journal|date=16 August 2010|access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

On 17 August 2010, the IMU announced that Yuldashev's long-serving deputy, [[Abu Usman Adil]], had been appointed the group's new leader. In his first statement, Adil called on his followers to wage jihad in the southern portion of Kyrgyzstan, in the wake of [[2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes|ethnic violence against the Uzbek minority]].<ref name="longwarjournal.org"/><ref name="lwj"/><ref name="rferl">{{cite web|title=The Growing Threat Of Militants In A Corner Of Central Asia|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/militants_growing_threat_is_corner_of_central_asia/9503283.html| publisher = [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=23 April 2011|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref> Adil was killed in an April 2012 US drone strike in Pakistan. In August 2012 the group announced that Adil's deputy, [[Usman Ghazi]], was their new leader.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|title=IMU announces death of emir, names new leader|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/08/imu_announces_death_1.php| publisher = The Long War Journal|date=4 August 2014}}</ref>

===Funding===
The IMU is alleged by the magazine ''Eurasia Critic'' to be involved in organized criminal activities such as controlling and facilitating drug smuggling.<ref>{{cite web |title=Drug Trafficking in Uzbekistan |url=http://www.eurasiacritic.com/articles/drug-trafficking-uzbekistan |website=www.eurasiacritic.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618034607/http://www.eurasiacritic.com/articles/drug-trafficking-uzbekistan |archive-date=June 18, 2012}}</ref> The IMU is alleged by the United States of America to receive funding from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct052003.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814075831/http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct052003.html|url-status=dead|title=DEA Congressional Testimony – "Narco-Terrorism: International Drug Trafficking and Terrorism – a Dangerous Mix"|archivedate=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

===Media===
The IMU's media arm is known as ''Jundallah Studio''. It produces high-quality videos, publishes audio and written statements, and has released newsletters in [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[German language|German]], [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Urdu language|Urdu]] and [[Pashto language|Pashto]].<ref name=LWJ8/><ref name=fpnov12/> The group also ran an Uzbek-language website called ''Furqon'',<ref name="lwj"/> which is no longer accessible.

==Claimed and alleged attacks==
The Government of Uzbekistan accused the IMU of being involved in the [[Terrorism in Uzbekistan|2004 Tashkent bombings]], which left 33 militants, 10 policemen, and four civilian dead; however, an IMU splinter group called the [[Islamic Jihad Union]] later claimed responsibility.<ref name="rferl.org">{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/09/6ec8adad-f98f-413d-95e1-776074d74a24.html|title=Germany: Authorities Say Uzbekistan-Based Group Behind Terrorist Plot|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|date=2 February 2012 |last1=Saidazimova |first1=Gulnoza }}</ref>

The [[Cabinet of Tajikistan|Tajik government]] announced that it was seeking 23 suspected IMU members who Tajik authorities say attacked supporters of [[Tajik President]] [[Imomali Rakhmonov]] on 28 September 2006, wounding two people.<ref name=INVENTED/>

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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ten on Trial in France for Funding Qaida-Linked Uzbeks |url=http://www.satrapia.com/news/article/ten-on-trial-in-france-for-funding-qaida-linked-uzbeks/ |newspaper=The Gazette of Central Asia |date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Satrapia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413154930/http://www.satrapia.com/news/article/ten-on-trial-in-france-for-funding-qaida-linked-uzbeks/ |archive-date=April 13, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=France: 9 convicted for link to Uzbek terror group |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/france-9-convicted-link-uzbek-terror-group |author=Press, Associated |date=January 8, 2013 |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625155400/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/france-9-convicted-link-uzbek-terror-group |archive-date=June 25, 2013 }}</ref>

The IMU and Taliban were blamed for the 28 May 2011 bombing in Taloqan, Afghanistan, that killed a top [[Afghan National Police]] commander, General [[Mohammed Daud Daud]], and wounded the governor of [[Takhar Province]] and a German general.<ref name="rferl9June">{{cite web|title=In Afghanistan, IMU-Taliban Alliance Chips Away At The Stone|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/in_afghanistan_imu_taliban_alliance_chips_away_at_the_stone/24230127.html| publisher = [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=9 June 2011|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

An 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.<ref name="jamestown26april">{{cite news|title=The IMU Expansion in Afghanistan's Takhar Province: Jumping Off Point to Central Asia?| newspaper=Jamestown |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=40802&no_cache=1#.VD2hXOk9Imw |publisher = [[The Jamestown Foundation]]|date=26 April 2013|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

===IMU attacks on Pakistan===
In April 2012, an estimated 150 IMU and TTP fighters launched a successful attack on Bannu Prison in Pakistan's [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] Province, freeing nearly 400 prisoners, including [[Adnan Rashid]], who was convicted of involvement in a 2003 assassination attempt against then-Pakistani President [[Pervez Musharraf]].<ref name=fpnov12/>

The BBC reported that members of the IMU took part in the [[2012 Peshawar airport attack|15 December 2012 Peshawar airport attack]], resulting in the deaths of 4 civilians and all 5 attackers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/rockets-fired-airport-pakistan-2-killed |title=Militants attack airport in NW Pakistan; 9 killed |agency=Associated Press |date=15 December 2012 |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022080209/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/rockets-fired-airport-pakistan-2-killed |archive-date=October 22, 2014 }}</ref>

In June 2014, the IMU claimed responsibility for [[2014 Jinnah International Airport attack|an attack]] on Pakistan's [[Jinnah International Airport]]. At least 39 people were killed in the attack, including all 10 attackers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27790892|title=Karachi airport: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan claims attack|work=BBC|date=11 June 2014|access-date=11 June 2014}}</ref>

A video released by the IMU in April 2015 showed members of the group beheading a [[Hazara people|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32200835|title=Afghanistan kidnap video: Hostage beheaded 'by Uzbek gunmen'|work=BBC|date=7 April 2015|access-date=8 April 2015}}</ref>

==Analysis==
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.<ref name=SEPTWARNING>
{{cite news
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2242594.stm
| title=Taleban 'warned US of huge attack'
| date= September 7, 2002
| work=BBC News
| first=Kate
| last=Clark
| access-date=2007-08-28
| author-link=Kate Clark (journalist)
}}</ref>

In his book [[Terror and Consent]], [[Philip Bobbitt]] noted that [[Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood]], a scientist of the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]], had met Osama bin Laden in [[Kabul]] in August 2001. Mahmood is said to have disclosed that bin Laden "insisted that he already had sufficient fissile material to build a [nuclear] bomb, having obtained it from former Soviet stockpiles through the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan."<ref>Bobbitt, Philip. ''Terror and Consent''. Pg. 120.</ref>

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."<ref name=TERRORISM>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.rferl.org/features/2003/10/30102003165203.asp
| title=U.S.: Diplomat sees growing terrorism challenge in Central Asia
| first=Jeffrey
| last=Donovan
| publisher=[[Radio Free Europe]]
| date=October 30, 2003
| access-date=2007-08-28
| author-link=Jeffrey Donovan
}}</ref>

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."<ref name=INVENTED>{{cite news| url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/10/e67731b4-942e-4c0c-b232-f77137f451e5.html |title=Tajik Official says Uzbeks invented regional terror group |date= 17 October 2006 |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

Some analysts{{who|date=January 2022}} 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).{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
|Country
|Date
|References
|-
|{{flagcountry|Australia}}
|April 2003
|<ref name="australia-2009-09-15">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|title=Listed terrorist organisations|access-date=2014-10-10|archive-date=2016-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025195553/https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Canada}}
|April 2003
|<ref name="canada-2014-01-22">{{cite web |url=http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-eng.aspx |title=Currently listed entities |publisher=Publicsafety.gc.ca|access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|Russia}}
|February 2003
|<ref name="russia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/npd/terror.htm|title=Единый федеральный список организаций, в том числе иностранных и международных организаций, признанных в соответствии с законодательством Российской Федерации террористическими :: Федеральная Служба Безопасности|website=www.fsb.ru}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
|1 November 2002
|<ref>{{cite act |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |title-link=Terrorism Act 2000 |date=2000-07-20 |orig-section=c. 11, sched. 2 |chapter=Proscribed Organisations |reporter=UK Public General Acts |chapter-url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-date=2013-01-21 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flagicon|European Union}} [[European Union]]
|27 May 2002
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32002R0881&from=EN|title=EUR-Lex - 32002R0881 - EN|website=Official Journal L 139|date=29 May 2002|pages=0009–0022|language=EN|access-date=2019-04-04}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|25 September 2000
|<ref name="us-fto">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|date=2012-09-28 |publisher=State.gov |access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref>
|-
|{{PAK}}
|15 March 2013
|<ref>[https://nacta.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Proscribed-OrganizationsEng-2.pdf Organizations Proscribed by Ministry of Interior u/s 11-B-(1) r/w Schedule-I, ATA 1997] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321135428/https://nacta.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Proscribed-OrganizationsEng-2.pdf |date=2022-03-21 }}{{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
|-
|{{UAE}}
|
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/list-of-terror-groups-published-by-uae-1.1413219|title=List of terror groups published by UAE|date=16 November 2014 }}</ref>
|}

==See also==
*[[2014 Jinnah International Airport attack]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan| ]]
[[Category:Anti-Pakistan sentiment]]
[[Category:Anti-Zionist organizations]]
[[Category:Islamist groups]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Canada]]
[[Category:Salafi Jihadist groups]]
[[Category:Factions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]