Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
| Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) | |
|---|---|
| Participant in terrorism in Uzbekistan Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001) War in Afghanistan (2001–2014), and the War on Terror |
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| Active | August 1998–present |
| Ideology |
Islamism Pan-Islamism Central Asian Caliphate |
| Leaders |
Jumma Kasimov (KIA) Tohir Yoʻldosh (KIA) Abu Usman Adil (KIA) Usman Ghazi (KIA) |
| Headquarters | North Waziristan, Pakistan |
| Area of operations |
Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan Northern Afghanistan Xinjiang Province in China |
| Strength | 500–1,000 members |
| Part of |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (since 2015) |
| Allies | |
| Opponents |
Opponents |
| Battles and wars |
Islamic insurgency in Uzbekistan Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001) War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) War in North-West Pakistan |
Opponents
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU, Uzbek: Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати/Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati) is a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley. Its original objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and to create an Islamic state under Sharia; however, in subsequent years, it reinvented itself as an ally of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In mid-2015 its leadership publicly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and announced that the IMU was part of the group's regional branch. Dissident elements of the IMU retained the group's name and their alliance with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Operating out of bases in Tajikistan and Taliban-controlled areas of northern Afghanistan, the IMU launched a series of raids into southern Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000. The IMU suffered heavy casualties in 2001–2002 during the American-led 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. Since then, the IMU has focused on fighting Pakistani forces in the Tribal Areas, and NATO and Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan.
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