Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Crenshaw, M., & Robinson, K. (2025). Mapping Militants Project. Rice University. https://doi.org/10.25613/G0K4-WF70
Mapping Militants Project. “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.” Last modified June 24, 2026. https://mappingmilitants.org/node/406/
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a Salafi-jihadist militant group. The group initially sought to overturn the secular, authoritarian government of Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov. The IMU later expanded its goals to include the establishment of an Islamic caliphate throughout Central Asia. [59] The IMU shared IS’s belief in a radical Salafist ideology and its commitment to global jihad, an important factor in its ultimate support for the group.[60]
The IMU had a conflictual relationship with the authoritarian and anti-Islamic government of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who imposed many policies intending to restrict the religious practices of the Muslim majority. The subsequent spread of Islamic extremism among the Uzbek population was allegedly an expression of anti-authoritarianism and opposition to the administration’s violence and corruption.[61]
Prior to October 2001, the IMU targeted Uzbek government forces and affiliated subjects, conducting bombings and hostage-taking operations. During US-led Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, the group shifted its focus to battling US and international forces in Afghanistan, alongside AQ and the Afghan Taliban. After 2001, the IMU began targeting government forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and all those opposed to the IMU’s vision of a regional Islamic caliphate.[62] The group conducted suicide attacks, bombings, and raids on coalition forces, the International Security Assistance Force, and other western interests in Central Asia. [63]
The organization also publishes propaganda material and audio statements via its media branch, Jundullah Studio. The IMU has conducted extensive propaganda activity, publishing videos of executions and IMU fighters launching attacks, and video messages urging individuals throughout the Caucasus to join the jihadi cause.[64]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
February 16, 1999: Militants launched 5 simultaneous car bombs in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, one of which almost killed President Karimov. The Uzbek government blamed the IMU for the attack, but this allegation has not been independently verified (16+ killed, 100+ wounded).[65]
August 1999: On August 9, an IMU guerrilla group kidnapped the mayor and three officials from a small village in western Kyrgyzstan. Within a week, the Kyrgyzstani government fulfilled IMU demands for a ransom payment and a helicopter for safe passage to Tajikistan. On August 23, the IMU took four Japanese geologists and eight Kyrgyz soldiers’ hostage in southern Kyrgyzstan. The final hostages were freed after two months (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[66]
December 2002 – May 2003: The IMU launched four explosions in the Kyrgyz cities of Osh and Bishkek that killed eight people (8 killed, unknown wounded).[67]
July 2007: The IMU allegedly participated in the Red Mosque siege in Islamabad, Pakistan. Militants held at least 250 people hostage as they fought Pakistani forces for control of the mosque (62 killed, unknown wounded).[68]
September 19, 2010: The IMU claimed responsibility for the ambush of a convoy of Tajiki soldiers in the Rasht Valley in Tajikistan, killing an estimated 25 soldiers (25 killed, unknown wounded).[69]
April 15, 2012: The IMU, with Pakistani Taliban and TTP militants, attacked the Bannu Prison in Pakistan and freed 384 prisoners, including several that were described as “very dangerous” (unknown killed, 5 wounded).[70]
June 8, 2014: The IMU participated in the attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, alongside the TTP and Pakistani Taliban. All 10 attackers died in the attack (36 killed, unknown wounded).[71]
February 2015: The IMU took around 30 Hazara men hostage in Zabul province, Afghanistan. The group published a video of the beheading of one of the hostages, an Afghan National Army soldier, the following month. The kidnapping was allegedly in response to the arrest of female IMU supporters by the Afghan government (1 killed, unknown wounded).[72]
The IMU and other militant groups have carried out extensive propaganda and recruitment campaigns in Central Asia. However, they have limited appeal among Muslim communities in the region, which are typically opposed to calls for a regional Islamic caliphate.[79]
The IMU had long-standing relations with the Afghan Taliban. In 1998, IMU co-founders Namangani and Yuldashev formally established the group and began conducting operations in Afghanistan as guests of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In exchange for Taliban patronage, the IMU trafficked the group’s illegal drugs throughout Central Asia. The IMU also supported the Taliban in fighting against Northern Alliance forces during the group’s reign in Afghanistan and in battling US-led coalition forces under Operation Enduring Freedom. After the overthrow of the Afghan Taliban regime, the IMU maintained close relations with its shadow government in northern Afghanistan.
The IMU also maintained strong relations with Al Qaeda. In the late 1990s, AQ leader Osama bin Laden provided funding that contributed to the establishment of the IMU. AQ provided weapons, training, and financial and logistical support to the IMU until 2002, while the IMU operated primarily in Afghanistan. This aid allowed the nascent IMU to launch several high-profile attacks in 1999 and 2000.[80]
After the IMU relocated to Pakistan in late 2001, it established training camps in the country under the protection of the Pakistani Taliban. Around this time, the group also developed a strong cooperative relationship with the AQ-aligned Haqqani Network. The two groups collaborated to launch multiple attacks. Moreover, the Haqqani Network helped to train IMU militants, and the IMU, in turn, provided fighters for attacks.[81]
Another close ally of the IMU in Pakistan was Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP); the two groups cooperated to launch multiple attacks against Pakistani security forces. In 2013, the IMU and TTP also formed a joint unit, Ansar al-Aseer, to free TTP members from Pakistani prisons.[82]
After a period of declining relations with the Afghan Taliban, the IMU leadership began to move toward the Islamic State. In September 2014, IMU leader Usman Ghazi released a public statement: “On behalf of members of our Islamic Movement, I herewith announce to the world that we are siding with the Islamic Caliphate.” An important distinction is that his announcement did not include the term “Bay’a,” which would indicate an official pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS).[83] In spring 2015, IMU factions in northern Afghanistan pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), which prompted the Taliban to attack them.[84] Then, in August 2015, a statement issued by the IMU outlined several grievances against the Taliban, and the IMU issued an official pledge of allegiance to IS.[85]
While aligned with the Islamic State, the IMU helped expand the ISKP’s propaganda network to include Uzbekistan audiences. ISKP incorporated the stories of past IMU members who were killed by the Taliban upon switching allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) into their history and lore. The IMU’s ideologies are published by Dabiq magazine, the IS former central publication, and shared throughout the IS Uzbek-language sphere of influence.[86]
The IMU's alignment with the Islamic State was not a group-wide decision, and this decision was not accepted by all IMU fighters. Factions of the IMU stayed loyal to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.[87] The disagreements among IMU factions over relations with IS and the Taliban reflected a deep internal split rooted in the group's longstanding decentralized structure. This can be interpreted as a product of the group’s dependence on Taliban patronage for shelter and financing, rather than any deliberate organizational design.[88]
The Taliban's response to Ghazi's declaration of allegiance to IS was swift and violent. Following the August 2015 announcement, the Taliban demanded that the IMU renounce the pledge or leave Afghanistan.[89] Ghazi's IS-aligned IMU fighters joined forces with the Islamic State in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, but they were defeated by the Taliban in late 2015. Many IMU fighters were killed, and Ghazi was reported killed by Taliban forces during this period, though not immediately confirmed.[90] The IS-aligned faction carried the IMU's media infrastructure, including its primary outlets, into ISKP.[91]
The surviving Taliban-aligned core, which had continued operating quietly throughout the split without access to the IMU's official media outlets because the IS faction had taken them with it, publicly reconstituted itself in June 2016, denouncing IS and reaffirming loyalty to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.[92] This faction retained the IMU name and resumed its pre-2014 relationship of cooperation with and dependence on the Taliban. The transition from conflict back to cooperation was not a reconciliation between former enemies, but rather the re-emergence of a faction that had never broken with the Taliban.[93] Following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, the group remained under the Taliban’s influence and operated in northern Afghanistan's provinces within the Taliban's military and intelligence framework.[94] A source published in October 2021 described the IMU’s operations in the preceding years “as little more than an auxiliary force for the Taliban in Afghanistan.”[95]
Several splinter groups formed out of the IMU over the course of the group’s lifetime. Jamaat Ansarullah, a Tajik splinter group, formed in response to the IMU’s declaration of support for IS and reaffirmed its allegiance to the Taliban. Jundullah, a militant group based in Afghanistan, split from the IMU in 2009 following the death of emir Yuldashev. Jundullah shared similar goals with the IMU, and the two groups maintained cooperative relations. The Islamic Jihad Group, later renamed the Islamic Jihad Union, formed in 2002 after the IMU relocated to Pakistan; the group cooperated with the IMU and the Haqqani Network for operations in southeast Afghanistan.[96]
In the late 1990s, the IMU received substantial support, including weapons, financial support, training, and leadership support from AQ leader Osama bin Laden, which was critical for the establishment of the IMU. [97] The Taliban regime in Afghanistan also served as an early patron for the IMU and allowed the group to operate in Afghanistan until the regime’s collapse. Following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, the group remained under the Taliban’s influence and operated in northern Afghanistan's provinces within the Taliban's military and intelligence framework.[98] A source published in October 2021 described the IMU’s operations in the preceding years “as little more than an auxiliary force for the Taliban in Afghanistan.”[99]
[1] Rabasa, Angel, et al. “The Caucasus and Central Asia.“ Beyond Al-Qaeda: Part 1, The Global Jihadist Movement, RAND Corporation, 2006. Pp. 105–118. JSTOR.
[2] Mehl, Damon. “The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Opens a Door to the Islamic State.” CTC Sentinel, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Jun. 2015. Web. 25 Aug. 2018. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-islamic-movement-of-uzbekistan-opens-a-doo...
[3] Sharipzhan, Merhat. “IMU Declares It Is Now Part of the Islamic State.“ Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 22 Aug. 2018.
[4] Roggio, Bill. “Tahir Yuldashev confirmed killed in US strike in South Waziristan.“ The Long War Journal, 04 Oct. 2009. Web. 22 Aug. 2018.
[5] Rabasa, Angel, et al. “The Caucasus and Central Asia.“ Beyond Al-Qaeda: Part 1, The Global Jihadist Movement, RAND Corporation, 2006. Pp. 105–118. JSTOR; Chivers, C. J. “Threats and Responses: Central Asia; Uzbek Militants’ Decline Provides Clues to U.S.“ New York Times, 2002. Web. 30 Aug. 2018.
[6] Ilkhamov, Alisher. “Mystery Surrounds Tashkent Explosions.“ Middle East Research and Information Project, 15 April 2004. Web. 30 Aug. 2018.
[7] Rabasa, Angel, et al. “The Caucasus and Central Asia.“ Beyond Al-Qaeda: Part 1, The Global Jihadist Movement, RAND Corporation, 2006. Pp. 105–118. JSTOR.
[8] Sanderson, Thomas M., Daniel Kimmage, and David A. Gordon. “From the Ferghana Valley to South Waziristan: The Evolving Threat of Central Asian Jihadists.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20260118071544/https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/100324_Sanderson_FerghanaValley_WEB_0.pdf
[9] Kaura, Vinay. “Uzbekistan ups its involvement in Afghanistan.“ Middle East Institute, 31 Jan. 2018. Web. 22 Aug. 2018.
[10] Azamy, Hekmatullah. “Will the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Trade the Taliban for ISIS?“ Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, vol. 7, no. 6, 2015, pp. 30–35. JSTOR.
[11] Mehl, Damon. “The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Opens a Door to the Islamic State.” CTC Sentinel, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, Jun. 2015. Web. 25 Aug. 2018. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-islamic-movement-of-uzbekistan-opens-a-doo...“”
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