The Imam Bukhari Jamaat (Uzbek: Imom Buxoriy Katibasi, also Katibat Imam al Bukhari) is an Islamist Salafi group fighting in the Syrian Civil War and the War in Afghanistan, composed of primarily Uzbeks, and expressing loyalty to the Taliban movement.[1] The group originally operated only in Syria, where it is allied with other jihadist organisations such as al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham, and alongside these other groups it makes up the Army of Conquest, which overran much of Idlib province in north Syria in 2015.[4] Since late 2016, the group has also began to fight against Afghan National Security Forces, and has claimed to have set up training camps in northern Afghanistan.[3]

Imam Bukhari Jamaat
Uzbek: Imom Buxoriy Katibasi
FounderSalahadin al-Uzbeki
LeadersSalahadin al-Uzbeki  (2017)[1][2]
Abu Yusuf al-Muhajir (2017-present)
Dates of operation2017-present
AllegianceAfghanistan Taliban (claimed by Imam Bukhari Jamaat since 2017, denied by Taliban)[3]
IdeologyIslamism
Salafi Jihadism
Size500-1000
Part of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (2016)
Army of Conquest[4]
Afghanistan Taliban (denied by Taliban)
AlliesAfghanistan Taliban (denied by Taliban)
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Syrian Liberation Front[5]
Tahrir al-Sham al-Qaeda Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
al-Qaeda Turkistan Islamic Party
Opponents Syria
 United States
 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan[3]
 Iran
 Russia
Islamic State
Syrian Democratic Forces[6]
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)[3]
Designated as a terrorist group by Iraq[10]
 Kyrgyzstan[11]
 United States[12]

The group is named after Imam Bukhari, a 9th-century Islamic scholar who was from Bukhara in modern-day Uzbekistan.[13]

Leadership

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The group was led by an individual known as Sheikh Salahuddin, before his assassination in Idlib Governorate.[14][15]

Activity

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KIB has started since 2017 their operations in both Syria and Afghanistan. In Syria the group supported Al-Nusra Front and in Afghanistan the group supported the Taliban for their conquest to takeover Afghanistan. The origins of the group lie in Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

KIB swears allegiance to the Taliban leadership and has also played a prominent role in northwestern Syria fighting alongside al-Qaeda’s forces there. According to RFE/RL, the Syrian wing is led by a veteran of the jihad in Afghanistan who was sent to Syria by the Taliban and Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the Taliban’s top deputies and leader of the powerful al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.

KIB took part in the al-Qaeda-led 2015 offensive that took over Idlib Province, as well as the al Qaeda-led offensive in the southern Aleppo countryside and renewed clashes in Latakia last year. It has also advertised its training camps in the country, including at least two for children.

On 2017 the group has claimed an ambush on Afghan troops in northern Afghanistan in a statement released through the terrorist group’s Telegram channel. According to the statement, KIB jihadists destroyed three Afghan humvees in improvised explosive device (IED) blast before opening fire on soldiers. Additionally, the group claimed to kill four Afghan troops. Pictures showing the explosions and subsequent ambush were released alongside the statement.[16]

Organization

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The Syrian and Afghan branches of KIB have sworn allegiance to Mullah Akhundzada of the Taliban in 2017.[3] The group was also suspected to have supported the Taliban during the Taliban offensive in 2021.

Since 2016, KIB has sporadically released propaganda from its Afghanistan wing. That year, the group released two videos from the northern part of the country depicting training camps for both general indoctrination and lessons on the manufacturing of IED’s, along with combat footage.

The promotion of its Afghanistan activities that year correlates to when fighters from its Syrian wing began redeploying to Afghanistan, as confirmed by the United Nations.

Since then, other releases have focused on combat footage or captured weapons from Afghan forces. Smaller sporadic attacks, such as sniper operations, have also been claimed.

Since 2018, KIB has openly identified itself as part of the Afghan Taliban as it refers to itself as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – Katibat Imam al Bukhari,” a link to the official name used by the Taliban.[17]

 
The official telegram channel of Imam Bukhari Battalion labelled itself as "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - Imam Bukhari Battalion"

Further showing the group’s support to the Taliban, KIB’s Syrian wing congratulated the group for its “victory” inside Afghanistan following the announcement US withdrawal of Afghanistan in 2020.

In March 2018, the US State Department added KIB to its list of specially designated global terrorist organizations. State’s designation notes KIB’s close ties to various al-Qaeda groups inside Syria. It played a prominent role in the takeover of Idlib in 2015.

Much like KIB’s Afghanistan wing, its Syrian branch also swears allegiance to Mullah Akhundzada and the Afghan Taliban. All of these allegations have been denied by the Afghan Taliban.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Main Uzbek Militant Faction In Syria Swears Loyalty To Taliban". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Al Qaeda affiliated Uzbek leader assassinated in Syria". Long War Journal. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e Caleb Weiss (9 February 2017). "Uzbek jihadist group claims ambush in northern Afghanistan". Long War Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Taliban-Aligned Uzbek Suicide Bomber Attacks Shi'ite Village In Syria". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  5. ^ says, Willy Van Damme (26 March 2018). "Jihadists in Syria denounce US designation of Uzbek group - FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  6. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Turkistan Islamic Party shows fighters on frontlines in northwestern Syria | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Over 150 killed in Aleppo fighting". Long War Journal. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Jihadists celebrate in key Idlib city after defeating Syrian regime". Long War Journal. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  10. ^ الموضوع moj.gov.iq (in Arabic)
  11. ^ "List of terrorist and extremist organizations banned in Kyrgyzstan". 24.kg. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  12. ^ "State Department Terrorist Designation of Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari". U.S. Department of State. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Uzbek jihadist group releases footage from Syrian training camp". The Long War Journal. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  14. ^ Weiss, Caleb (30 April 2017). "Al Qaeda affiliated Uzbek leader assassinated in Syria". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2018. The assassination of Salahadin al Uzbeki was first reported by Hay'at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), al Qaeda's joint venture in Syria. HTS' Al Eba News Agency reported that "the infiltrator who assassinated Salahadin, the emir of Katibat al Bukhari, and his companions has been arrested in Ariha, Idlib today."
  15. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (12 November 2014). "Main Uzbek Militant Faction In Syria Swears Loyalty To Taliban". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 24 January 2018. The video, which includes a speech by the Imam Bukhori Jamaat's leader, known only as Sheikh Salahuddin, sheds light onto the deep ties between some Uzbek militants in Syria and extremist networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  16. ^ "Uzbek jihadist group claims ambush in northern Afghanistan | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Uzbek jihadist group claims capture of Afghan militiamen | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
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