Islamic Jihad Union

In 2002, the Islamic Jihad Group appeared in the Tribal Zone (a region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border).

Najmuddin Jalolov , who had already fought in the Caucasus and Afghanistan, consulted with experienced Mujahideen, organized his own group, which sought to return to Uzbekistan and spread “ jihad ” to all of Central Asia . First of all, he opened a training camp somewhere in the mountains of Khorosan , whose pupils then went to Uzbekistan . A huge number of recruits were former members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan .

The split that led to the emergence of the Union of Islamic Jihad took place on the basis of disagreements that have long been outlined in the IMU on issues of strategy, and above all, on the goals of this movement. So, the IMU leadership still considers the fight against the Karimov regime in Uzbekistan a priority. In 2001, a radical wing opposed him, demanding that the scope of "jihadist activity" be extended to all of Central Asia , and then to Western countries. In 2002, a group of opposition members from this wing, unable to impose their will on the IMU , proclaimed the creation of the Islamic Jihad Group. Its leadership, as well as that of the IMU, is based in Pakistan , namely in North Waziristan , where the city of Mir Ali is still its stronghold. ^[five]

The created group already began to strike at Uzbekistan in 2004 and early 2005, at the same time the organization received its current name - Islamic Jihad Union. Since that time, the LED has been actively approaching al-Qaeda , and is also changing priorities, starting to fight in Pakistan and Afghanistan and encroaching on Europe. ^[6]

One of the ideologists of the created group was Abu Leis al-Libi, the commander of the al-Qaeda detachment, in which Jalolov was a member . Until the beginning of 2008, he acted as a link between al-Qaeda and the SID, until he was killed at the end of January 2008 when a rocket launched by an American fighter hit one of the houses in Mir Ali . In this raid, in addition to al-Libi, several more members of the Islamic Jihad Union died. It is possible that Abu Leys al-Libi, who was called “our sheikh” by the SID, was the organization’s chief strategist and was also responsible for the operations planned to be carried out in Germany. In addition, al-Libi maintained particularly close contacts with the Taliban , acting as the “Al Qaeda Commissioner in Central Asia”. ^[five]

Terrorist Recognition

The head of the CIA, Porter Goss, said in March 2005 that "the SID has become the most dangerous threat to the interests of US governments and countries of the ( Central Asian ) region." In May of the same year, the US State Department recognized the Union as a terrorist organization. In June, the organization appeared on the list of UN terrorists ^[7] .

October 15, 2005 MP Hazel Ann Bllers urged the British House of Commons to recognize SID as a terrorist organization because it “threatens British interests abroad” ^[8] . Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray claimed that the LED, if it exists, is used by the government of Uzbekistan for its own purposes. Hazle Bears responded to this, that "her suspicions are justified by intelligence and sources from the security services, and many UN members are concerned about the activities of the SID" ^[9] . After Murray was recalled from the post of ambassador to Uzbekistan, he wrote a book in Samarkand about the "struggle of the British ambassador in a country of tyranny against international terrorism."

In Germany, LEDs are rated differently. For example, Benno Köpfer, head of the Baden-Württemberg state security organs, generally doubts the existence of such an organization ^[10] . However, more often, LEDs are considered an IMU branch associated with al-Qaeda ^[11] .

Rumors of cooperation with Uzbek intelligence

On September 25, 2008, an interview with Uzbek defector Ikrom Yakubov appeared in a large German magazine Monitor that the SID was created by Uzbek intelligence and is used by the Karimov regime to create the appearance of a country that is a victim of terrorism ^[12] .

Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray believed that "the SID was created by Uzbek special services, and the attacks in Tashkent were organized either by these special services or by people recruited by them" ^[13] .

The combat history of the LED begins with several explosions in Uzbekistan from March 28 to April 1, 2004, which killed 47 people. Even then, LED began to organize its cells in Russia , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , Kazakhstan . The main training camps were located in Pakistan , as well as in Kazakhstan . July 30, 2004 SID blows up Israeli and American embassies, as well as the office of the Attorney General in Tashkent , claiming that these actions "are directed against the traitorous government." At the end of 2004, several SID members were arrested in Kazakhstan . ^[7]

In 2007, three people were arrested in Germany, in the town of Sauerland . They were accused of plans to attack Frankfurt International Airport and American military installations, such as Ramstein Air Base , as well as the American and Uzbek embassies in Germany. All three were connected with LEDs; they entered the so-called “Sauerland cell”. Two of them are Germans who converted to Islam . ^{[14] [15] [5]} The purpose of these actions was to force the Germans to disband a large military base near Termez.

In 2008, two alleged SID members were arrested at Cologne-Bonn Airport in Germany on board a KLM company heading to Amsterdam . It is claimed that these people were going to get to Pakistan through Uganda to study in the training camps of any terrorist organization. However, the assumptions were not confirmed, and two people (a Somali and a German citizen of Somali origin) were released. ^[sixteen]

In early March 2008, Junite Chifchi, a Turkish young man born in Germany, blew himself up at an American military base in the Afghan province of Khost . As a result of the attack, two American soldiers and two employees of the Afghan army were killed. The responsibility for the attack was assumed by the LED. He also published videos recording the suicide bomber preparing for this action and during its implementation. This event was just another proof that the SID recruited a group of new recruits from among the German Turks who had been trained in the Pakistani region of Waziristan. ^[five]

On May 26, 2009, SID carried out bombings of police posts and other facilities in the cities of Khanabad and Andijan, Andijan region of Uzbekistan . ^[17]

In 2011, the Badr at-Taukhid news agency, SID media department, released a video showing joint operations with the Taliban in the north and east of Afghanistan , as well as training at local training camps for Uzbeks , Tajiks and Pashtuns . The same video shows some of the fallen LED fighters, who by name are obviously from Turkey , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan and Pakistan . ^[18]

In April 2014, in Ali-Sher County, Khost province, the SID, together with the Taliban, captured the large American military base Chargouti, transferred to the Afghan army, taking many trophies, including the American Hammer .