Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

aka IMU

Description: Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 25, 2000, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's (IMU) goal is to overthrow the Uzbek government and establish an Islamic state. For most of the past decade, however, the group recruited members from other Central Asian states and Europe and has focused on fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The IMU has a relationship with al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. In April 2012, IMU leader Abu Usman Adil died and Usman Ghazi was named the group's new leader. IMU's leadership cadre remains based in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled North Waziristan and operates primarily along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and in northern Afghanistan. Top IMU leaders have integrated themselves into the Taliban's shadow government in Afghanistan's northern provinces. Operating in cooperation with each other, the Taliban and IMU have expanded their presence throughout northern Afghanistan, and have established training camps in the region. Group members may have also traveled to Syria to fight with violent extremist oppositionist groups.

Activities: Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, the IMU has been predominantly focused on attacks against U.S. and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. In late 2009, NATO forces reported an increase in IMU-affiliated foreign fighters in Afghanistan. In 2010, IMU claimed credit for the September 19 ambush that killed 25 Tajik troops in Tajikistan. On October 15, 2011, IMU claimed responsibility for a suicide assault on a U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Team base in the Afghan province of Panjshir that killed two Afghan civilians and wounded two security guards.

In 2013, IMU remained active and carried out numerous attacks including a May joint attack with the Taliban in which six militants wearing Afghan National Police uniforms armed with suicide vests and weapons stormed the provincial governor compound in Bazarak, Afghanistan, killing one policeman and wounding four; a May suicide attack in Quetta, Pakistan that targeted the chief of police, killing eight and wounding 100 more; and an October suicide attack near Bagram Air Base that targeted a US military convoy.

Strength: 200-300 members

Location/Area of Operation: IMU militants are located in South Asia, Central Asia, and Iran.

Funding and External Aid: The IMU receives support from a large Uzbek diaspora, terrorist organizations, and donors from Europe, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East.