South and Central Asia: Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)

History and Reason for Formation/Description: An extremist organization that was

founded in the early 2000s (2002). It started in Pakistan jointed with the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) organization with the original goal of overthrowing
the secular and authoritarian Uzbekistani Government. The goal was to turn the
government into an Islamic state and establish Islamic Theocracy in Uzbekistan.
Then, in the early 2000s, they split from the IMU because they felt that the IMU was
too focused on Uzbekistan issues and they wanted to focus on a more global Jihad.
Currently, IJU is based in Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas. They are
also active in Afghanistan and have some involvement in Germany. Currently the
organization has around 100-200 members total. The leader of the organization was
Najmuddin Jalolov until US airstrikes killed him.
Overview of Ideology: The IJU strives to spread Jihad throughout the world in order
to liberate Muslims from the Tyranny of infidels. This struggle will only end when
Islam rules the world. They operate on a more global scale than the IMU, which is
why they split from them. It is for the purpose of repelling the injustice of the
apostate government and supporting the jihad of our Muslim brothers in Iraq,
Palestine, Afghanistan, the Hijaz, and in other Muslim countries ruled by infidels and
apostates."
Tactics & Support: The IJU is among Al-Qaidas remaining close allies. Much of their
support is given through this organization and the IJU could not have survived
without it. Also, the IJU has joined forces with the Taliban in Afghanistan. With AlQaida, the two organizations train volunteers from Central Asia, Pakistan, and
Europe (especially Germany). They IJU is a more appealing ally to Al-Qaida due to
their more global ideology. The IJU has reportedly received heavy weapons and
explosives from the Taliban to be used in their operations and attacks. They were
also able to recruit jihads in Germany and establish a sort of infrastructure there.
There are two Americans involved in the IJU that were featured in propaganda.
Timeline:
2002 Founded
2004 Attacks on Uzbekistan roadway checkpoints, first time the public heard
about the organization.
2004 Two suicide bombings of the Uzbek Prosecutor Generals office and U.S. and
Israeli Embassies in Tashkent.
2007 IJU began to shift focus from regional to global.
2007 Targets US military bases in Germany. German authorities disrupt plans.
2009 US airstrikes have reportedly target the group and killed the former leader,
Najmuddin Jalolov.
2013 Videos released showing attacks against a US-led base. They video showed
Taliban weapons being given to IJU to hit the base.

Overall Risk: 3-4. The organization is relatively small and many of its attacks in the
past have been on Uzbekistan, but with the shift from a regional to global scale and
the history of attacks on US bases and embassies, there is potential threat.
Especially considering the ties with the Taliban and Al-Qaida. Their last attack was in
2013 so they are still relatively active and should be watched by the United States
as they ideology goal is for Muslims to rule the states they are in.