Islamic Jihad Union

"IJU" redirects here. For other uses, see IJU (disambiguation).
"Islamic Jihad Group" redirects here. For the organization formerly known as the Jihad Group, see Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
LeadersNajmiddin Jalolov  †
Abu Omar al-Turkistani †[1]
Akhtar Mansour †
Ilimbek Mamatov
Dates of operation2002–present
Split fromIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Allegiance Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (since 2015)
HeadquartersNorth Waziristan
Ideology
Size200-250 in Afghanistan (2023)[2]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsGlobal War on Terrorism

War in Afghanistan

War in North-West Pakistan

The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU; Arabic: اتحاد الجهاد الإسلامي, romanized: Ittiḥad al-Jihad al-Islāmī) is a militant Islamist organization founded in 2002 as a splinter group of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Headquartered in North Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, the group has been affiliated with both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Under its original name Islamic Jihad Group (IJG; Arabic: جماعة الجهاد الاسلامي, romanized: Jama'at al-Jihad al-Islāmī), the group conducted several attacks in Uzbekistan. In 2007, a large-scale bomb plot in Germany, known as the "Sauerland terror cell", was discovered by German security authorities.[6] In the following years, the group focused on fighting Pakistani forces in the tribal areas, and NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.[7]

Recruits are mainly Turks both from Turkey and the Turkish communities in Western Europe, but also European converts to Islam, particularly in German-speaking countries.[8]

  1. ^ Caleb Weiss (14 February 2017). "Uighur jihadist fought in Afghanistan, killed in Syria". Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  2. ^ "UN security council report on Afghanistan" (PDF). UN. 2023-06-01.
  3. ^ "Why Central Asian states want peace with the Taliban". DW News. 27 March 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2022. "Taliban have assured Russia and Central Asian countries that it would not allow any group, including the IMU, to use Afghan soil against any foreign state," Muzhdah said.
  4. ^ Roggio, Bill; Weiss, Caleb (14 June 2016). "Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan faction emerges after group's collapse". Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Three groups active in Xinjiang banned". 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ^ DPA news agency (kjb) (September 19, 2008), Germany Arrests Two Suspected of Failed Terror Plot, Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on October 24, 2012, retrieved September 20, 2008
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference lwj0715 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Sandee 2008, pp. 11, 22.