Imam Bukhari Jamaat

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 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]

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

  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 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.