Terrorist groups in Central Asia

Funded by Saudi and Pakistani money the Central Asian Republics have seen a tremendous rise in the construction of religious schools and mosques. Many surveys conducted in the region have shown that the level of religiosity among Muslims has recorded high growth. But along with the moderate and traditional forms of Islam it is the stark growth in the radical and militant Islamic trends which have caused concern for these Republics. 

The Central Asian Republics have been under pressure after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Given their proximity with Afghanistan, the US withdrawal has fuelled speculations for many geopolitical and strategic consequences for these republics. The presence of more than 98,000 American forces and about 41,000 coalition forces at the peak of the Afghan campaign prevented the proliferation and strengthening of several terrorist and extremists’ groups. Groups like the Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) were specially put under check which ensured stability in the region. Of course, after the withdrawal of the US umbrella the security risks for the five Central Asian Republics have risen. As the withdrawal will be completed by September this year it has been speculated that many fighters who went to Afghanistan to participate in Jihad may return to their home and may lead to the foundation of new groups or movements and thus destabilizing the region.

2.The Terror Groups in Central Asia

Known to have provided the largest number of foreign fighters (not less than four thousand) the Central Asian region is now home to a growing number of regional and transnational terror groups. Terrorism in the Central Asian region has been often associated with radical Islamist movements while the political regimes have engaged themselves directly against these movements and various radical Islamist organizations which are considered as a direct and indirect threat to the existence of Central Asian regimes. Evidence also supports that these regimes often exaggerate the magnitude of terror threats to further their own goals such as silencing the opposition. Following is a list of the most important movements and organizations which have been classified as terror activities in Central Asia.

2.1 The Adolat or the Justice Movement

Central Asia was never devoid of hardliner Islamists who constantly challenged the efforts of the Tsarists regime and the Soviet Union to secularise the region. The Islamists opposed the Tsarist efforts of recruiting Muslims of the region to fight in the First World War. The Sovietisation of the region also did not happen not without resistance from the Islamists who took up arms to resist Moscow's efforts. Though the Central Asian region was under the effective control of the Soviet regime yet it never fully controlled the religious trends in the region the way religion was checked in Russian territories. Many underground religious schools and places of worship survived the Soviet religious purges and when Perestroika was announced in the mid-1980s the region was more than ready to have an Islamic rebirth in the region

The Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan part) saw the rise of a justice movement group or the Adolat. The Adolat leaders saw the establishment of an Islamic state in Uzbekistan as a solution for the socio-economic problems in the country. Because of the government's retaliation, the Adolat militias not only took refuge in Tajikistan but also participated in the Tajik Civil War (1992-1997). The former leaders of the Adolat became the core of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and were responsible for many violent attacks across Central Asia. Originally aimed at overthrowing the secular Uzbek government the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan eventually reoriented its goal. It was now aimed at establishing a regionwide Caliphate rule which was to be ruled by a supreme political and religious leader called the Caliph. Moved by their new goal the IMU members bombed the capital of Uzbekistan on several occasions and raided the mountainous areas of Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan suffered a bombing campaign in 2002-2004 besides the Kyrgyz cities of Bishkek and Osh. A series of violent incidents in 2011 again brought back the terrible memories of the early 2000s.

2.2 East Turkistan Islamic Movement and Jund-al-Khilafah

East Turkistan Islamic Movement and Jund-al-Khilafah or the Soldiers of the Caliphate are two militant Islamic groups that have been designated as terrorist organizations in the Central Asian Republics, Russia, China, and the US. These groups have been involved in skirmishes in the US forces in Afghanistan and have been known to have ties with al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The East Turkistan Islamic Movement non known as the Turkistan Islamic Movement is primarily a Uighur Islamic extremist movement to establish a sovereign independent state of Uighurs in Xinjian with the name East Turkistan. A Chinese report 0f 2002 accused the ETM to have committed more than 200 acts of terrorism was held responsible for the death of more than 150 people. Though the group has been listed as a terrorist organization since 2002 by the UN Security Council Al Qaida Sanctions Committee, the United States removed it from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations in 2020. It was said that there is no credible evidence for the existence of the ETIM and China has been using this name to justify its violent crackdown on the Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.  

2.3 Hayyat Tahrir-al Sham (HTS)

Formerly known as Jabhat-al-Nushra, the HTS is the official branch of al-Qaida in Syria. The group known to be one of the most successful extremist groups in Syria has fighters coming from Central Asia and the Middle-east. The HTS has been the most successful organization while targeting Central Asia for recruitments. They are operating an active, efficient, and targeted central messaging and dissemination apparatus. Known for distributing their contents in Arabic, Russian and Uzbek the group maintains Telegram channels for dissemination o their propaganda.

2.4 Tavhid va Jihod Katibasi (TJK)

TJK, also known as the Katibatal-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ), happens to be the second-largest Central Asian group that is mainly fighting in Syria. One of the most militarily successful groups in Syria, the group was originally founded in 2014 by an ethnic Uzbek named Sirojiddin Mukhtarov who hails from southern Kyrgyzstan. It officially pledges its loyalty to both al-Qaida and the HTS and releases its materials in both Arabic and Uzbek. The efficient propaganda network created by TJK is used to radicalize the Central Asian youth, particularly Uzbeks, to recruit them for their ongoing fighting. Its online contents and propaganda materials for this purpose are often released in Uzbek, Tajik, and Russian.

2.5 Katibat Imam Bukhori (KIB)

Originally founded in 2014 the KIB is the largest Uzbek militant group in Syria at this time. The group was designated a terrorist group by the United States in 2014 and is a key player in northern Syria. The group established another offshoot of it in Afghanistan in 2016. Though less in numbers their fighters have participated in joint terror attacks with the Taliban. They played an important role in the August 2018 attack on the Afghan government and forces in Ghazni city. It has curtailed its activities in Syria and has stopped recruitment for fighting in Syria however it is actively recruiting for fighting in Afghanistan.  The group sees Afghanistan as the center of global jihad and actively instigates its soldiers and supports to move to Afghanistan and join the battle against the infidels. In bed with the Taliban and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it conducts joint operations with them and its main propaganda narrative revolves around expelling US forces from Afghanistan, toppling the Assad regime in Syria, and ultimately taking the cause of jihad to the Central Asian Republics.

2.6 The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)

 The Islamic Jihad Union or the IJU is a splinter group of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The group aims to overthrow the Government of Uzbekistan and has carried out attacks and suicide bombings aimed at the security forces and also at public places. The group is also known to be an active participant in the Afghan war and has been engaged in carrying out attacks at the American-led forces in Afghanistan. Loyal to the Taliban it is too like the KIB has participated in joint operations with the Taliban and was a crucial element in the Taliban seize of Kunduz in 2015. It does its recruitment primarily from the Central Asian Republics.

2.7 Malhama Tactical (MT)

The Malhama Tactical is not just any terrorist organization and is structurally different from its counterparts. Its Unique Sellin Price is it is a private military contractor working for extremist groups. It not only trains their fighters but also provide its fighters for hire and conducts its raids in certain circumstances. It works together with the Ajnad al-Kavkaz which is an active terrorist outfit in North Caucuses. It was founded by an ethnic Uzbek named Abu Rofiq and the majority of its recruits come from the former territories of the Soviet Union. While very few in numbers the group is known for its tough recruitment standards and often operates sophisticated weapons. Unlike the other terror outfits, the MT uses its social media platforms for offering its military services to its existing and potential climates and does not involve in online recruitments.

2.8 The Hizub ut-Tahrir (HuT)

Known to be peaceful in its approach the HuT is a transnational organization that aims to revive the Caliphate. Although it has rejected violence as a means to pursue its goals it is still classified as a terror group in not only Central Asia and Russia but in also a majority of Islamic and western countries. It is capable of instigating extremist sentiments and is known to have provided ideological support to terrorism. Owing to the vast financial resources it has, the HuT is not less than any media mogul and has considerable footprints in both digital and print media. Translated materials in the Central Asian languages are distributed to its current and potential supporters not only through its digital accounts but also through magazines and newspapers that it prints.

2.9 The Islamic State- Wilayat Khorasan (ISWK)

An offshoot of the Islamic State (IS), the ISWK, also known by the name of Islamic State Khorasan Province, claims the existence of an emirate encompassing a large area that includes not only Iran and three Central Asian Republics but also Pakistan and Afghanistan along with Kashmir and Xinjiang. It is currently based in Afghanistan where it is fighting both the Taliban and the government forces. As far as recruitments are concerned it generally recruits the former Taliban members along with Salafists based in Pakistan and Afghanistan while also recruiting some foreign fighters. It receives leadership and funding from ISIS and also through its hawala networks.

3.The Central Asian Response

 The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emergence of new states in Central Asia led to the resurgence and reincarnation of many radical Islamic movements and organizations which were lying dormant because of the Soviet crackdown. The Central Asian states saw a huge surge in religious activities which alerted the regimes and the states often took repressive measures against Mosques, Madrasas, and other religious activities. Uzbekistan under Islam Karimov was particularly known for its notorious anti-religious laws and people were even put to jail just because they were reading Quran.

The Central Asian response to extremism and terrorism has been led by the national governments through the use of state agencies along with positively involving other stakeholders of the society. Besides the national governments, international agencies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have also been involved in counter-terrorism activities. UNDOC has been active in Central Asia since 1993 and has been working on five priority areas. Two of its priority areas directly entail capacity building and counter-terrorism.

The domestic response to the increasing extremism has been primarily through long jail sentences, taking down online propaganda materials from the internet, the use of education to spread awareness against violent extremism, and local engagements of NGOs, local communities, and civil society.

Almost all the five Central Asian states participated in the global war on terror in Afghanistan led by the United States and provided crucial infrastructural support to the US-led international forces. Bordering states of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan offered military bases to the United States while Turkmenistan offered logistical support to the US-led foreign forces. The states also provided over-flight rights and also shared intelligence. The Kyrgyzstan parliament even voted for its airports to be allowed by the United States for military and humanitarian purposes. The shared goals of the Central Asian Republics and the United States allowed them to agree on comprehensive cooperation with each other.  Many of the terror groups in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan had direct links to al-Qaida and the Taliban which also necessitated joint collaborated efforts. The US forces now leaving Afghanistan have again raised the concerns of the Central Asian Regimes. The Taliban has grown more powerful and has been engaged in violent skirmishes in northern Afghanistan bordering the states of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

4.The New Developments in Afghanistan and Central Asian Concerns

The Afghanistan crisis has intensified after the United States announced a hasty withdrawal. The withdrawal is scheduled to be complete by September this year. The new development has not only boosted the Taliban’s morals but also allowed it to quickly subdue the Afghan forces who are now on their own. Battles have intensified in northern Afghanistan and the situation became tensed when roughly thousand of Afghan soldiers crossed over to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. This drew an immediate response from both states. Not only they facilitated the timely return of the soldiers to the Afghan government but also took immediate measures to protect their borders. Both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, since then, have been conducting individual and joint military exercises with Russia to keep their forces battle-ready and prevent any export of fighters from Afghanistan to the CARs.

Afghanistan has many fighters from Central Asia and in the aftermath of Taliban victory, it is expected that these fighters will be sought to return home. This may intensify the insurgency and violence in the Central Asian republics as these foreign fighters may attempt to create new terror groups and may instigate new attacks. The same concern has been shared by the Russian policymakers thus intensifying Russian military involvement in the region. China shares the same concern as it believes that a triumphant Taliban may provide critical support to the otherwise dormant East Turkistan Movement and may help its reincarnation. Thus the five CARs and their two biggest neighbours share the same concern in the aftermath of the US withdrawal.

5.Conclusion

Muslim cultures in Central Asia have witnessed an Islamic revival in various ways. Islamic revival meant rediscovering faith as part of national and communal traditions for the majority of Central Asian Muslims. In Central Asian states, the emergence of radical Islamic ideas has led to a succession of armed attacks and intermittent outbursts of terrorist violence. Although Central Asia remains a secular region and has been able to separate politics from religion, the region's recurring social and political problems have the potential to damage government legitimacy while creating support for alternatives to the current leadership among unsatisfied parts of the population. Regions like Fergana valley are especially vulnerable to religious indoctrination and any export of extremist ideology critical support to this region from Afghanistan has the potential to disturb the whole of Central Asia.

For Further Reading

1.       https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/kennan_cable_38.pdf

2.     https://www.asianstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/terrorism-in-central-asia-dynamics-dimensions-and-sources.pdf

3.      https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/contributions-of-central-asian-nations-to-the-campaign-against-terrorism/

4.     https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_feb01map01.html

5.     https://www.unodc.org/centralasia/en/news/fostering-judicial-and-law-enforcement-cooperation-and-information-sharing-in-central-asia.html

6.     https://www.unodc.org/centralasia/en/unodc-in-central-asia.html

7.     https://eurasiangroup.org/en/Open%20briefing%20of%20the%20Counter-Terrorism%20Committee%20on%20Central%20Asia

8.     https://internews.org/wpcontent/uploads/legacy/201907/Violent_extremism_CentralAsia_Eng-2018.pdf

9.     https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups.html

10.  https://carnegieendowment.org/pdf/files/olcott_031403.pdf

Pic Courtesy-Ekrem Osmanoglu at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)