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Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad

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Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
Uzbek: Tavhid va jihod katibasi

Kyrgyz: Катибат аль-Таухид ва аль-жихад

Arabic: كتاب التوحيد والجهاد
FounderSirojiddin Mukhtarov †[1] (nom de guerre: Abu Salah al-Uzbeki)[2]
Leader
Ilmurad Khikmatov[3] (nom de guerre: Abdul Aziz al-Uzbeki)[4]
Dates active2014—present
CountrySyria
Allegiance
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda[5]

Tahrir al-Sham (2017—2024)[6]

Syria (2024—present)[7]
IdeologyJihadism
Wars

Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Uzbek: Tavhid va jihod katibasi, Kyrgyz: Катибат аль-Таухид ва аль-жихад, romanized: Katibat al'-Taukhid va al'-zhikhad, Arabic: كتائب التوحيد والجهاد, romanized: Kitā'ib al-tawḥīd wa-al-jihād) is an Uzbek/Kyrgyz jihadist militant organization based in Syria.

History

[edit]

The group was established in Syria in 2014 by Sirojiddin Mukhtarov,[10] and consists of mostly Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals.[11]

In 2015 the group, with the help of Al-Nusra Front and Ajnad al-Kavkaz, attempted to establish a de facto state in northwestern Syria.[12] This was all after the fighting in Idlib province, specifically in the town of Jisr ash-Shughur.[13]

In 2016 the group bombed the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, under Mukhtarov's orders.[14] Three people were arrested and sentenced for aiding and abetting the bombing.[15]

In 2019 the group hired hitmen to kill Aierken Saimaiti, a man who exposed a large money laundering scheme.[16] Also in 2019, the group's Shura council voted unanimously to replace Mukhtarov with Ilmurad Khikmatov.[17]

In 2021 two of the head propagandists of the organization were arrested in the town of Tanzim after attempting to recruit Uzbek school children to go to Syria to fight for the group.[18]

In 2022 the United States designated the group a terrorist organization.[19] Also the same year, in September, Mukhtarov, the original founder of the organization, was killed in a targeted airstrike by the Russian Air Force.[20][21]

In 2023, a foreign supporter of the group in Philadelphia attempted to build an IED in order to bomb certain targets in support of the group.[22] The group supplied the materials overseas.[23]

In September 2024 it was reported that militants from the group were operating in the Afrin Region and reinforcing the Hamza Division, working closely with its head, Sayf Bulad, in advance of anticipated fighting with the Levant Front.[24]

In April 2026, a 30-year-old Uzbek national in South Korea was arrested for funding Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad through cryptocurrency (around 4,600 USD) as well as received funding (around 124,500 USD) to purchase 11 used cars which were sent to Syria using a used car business he owned.[25]

On 10 June 2026, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security claimed to have arrested 31 members belonging to Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad as well as members of the Islamic State in the southern Osh and Batken regions, specifically in the Kyzyl-Kiya, Kara-Suu district, and Üch-Korgon areas in Kadamjay district from 8 June through 9th, seizing religious extremist literature, electronic storage devices with extremist materials, four unregistered firearms, symbols of terrorist groups, and money used to fund terrorist organizations abroad.[26]

References

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  1. ↑ "Terrorist group's leader, native of Kyrgyzstan, killed by Russian forces in Syria". GFATF. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Christou, Will; Al Nofal, Walid (25 June 2020). "Infighting between extremist opposition groups reveals tension with HTS rule in Idlib". Syria Direct. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  3. ↑ غاروفالو, دانيلي (4 May 2022). "كيف أحدثت الحرب الروسية على أوكرانيا انقساماً في أوساط الجهاديين؟". أخبار الآن (in Arabic). Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. ↑ Jones, Samuel (25 June 2026). "Abdul Aziz al-Uzbeki: KTJ's Trusted Ally of Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  5. ↑ ""Катибат аль-Таухид ва аль-жихад"- "Аль-Каиданын" Борбор Азиядагы идеялык мураскору". BBC News (in Kyrgyz). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Борбор азиялык жихадчылар "Аль-Каидага" ант беришти". BBC News (in Kyrgyz). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Sharawi, Ahmad (7 May 2026). "Syria's Accommodation of Foreign Jihadists Backfires". Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Zenn, Jacob (29 May 2015). "Al-Qaeda-Aligned Central Asian Militants in Syria Separate from Islamic State-Aligned IMU in Afghanistan". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Roggio, Bill (12 December 2024). "Hayat Tahrir al Sham's terror network in Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ)". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad". TRAC. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Lin, Christina (11 October 2015). "A buffer zone for Erdogan's Turkic settlements in Syria?". Asia Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Who is Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad?". Syrians for Truth and Justice. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "ГКНБ: Установлены организаторы и исполнители взрыва в посольстве Китая в Бишкеке". Сводка АКИpress. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Kyrgyzstan Sentences Three Over Chinese Embassy Attack". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "'His Murder Is Necessary': Man Who Exposed Kyrgyz Smuggling Scheme Was Hunted By Contract Killers". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  17. ↑ Botobekov, Uran (19 April 2019). "Uzbek's Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad changed its leader". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "Халқаро терроризм тарафдорлари узоқ муддатга озодликдан маҳрум этилди". Uza.uz (in Uzbek). 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "US designates Syrian al-Qaeda-linked group as 'Global Terrorist'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  20. ↑ Kudryavtseva, Tatyana (10 September 2022). "Militant leader, native of Kyrgyzstan Sirojiddin Mukhtarov killed in Syria –". 24.kg. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "Минобороны заявило об убийстве лидера группировки «Катиба Таухид валь-Джихад». Ее обвиняли в причастности к теракту в петербургском метро". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  22. ↑ Macaulay, Jessica; Bailey, Wakisha; Corrado, Kerri; Snyder, Dan (15 August 2023). "FBI, Philadelphia DA charge teen in terrorism probe". CBS News. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  23. ↑ Roebuck, Jeremy; Palmer, Chris (14 August 2023). "Philadelphia teen accused of buying and testing bomb-making materials in support of foreign terror group". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  24. ↑ "Uzbek militants deploy in Syria's Afrin". North Press Agency. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  25. ↑ Arestova, Tatyana (2 September 2026). "In South Korea, Uzbeks Suspected of Supporting a Terrorist Organization". Open KG. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  26. ↑ Bland, Stephen M. (10 June 2026). "Kyrgyzstan Says 31 Suspected KTJ and Islamic State Members Detained in Southern Operation". The Times of Central Asia. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
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