Alternative Names:
IJU, Ittihad al-Jihad al-Islami, Islamic Jihad Group, IJG,
Location:
Uzbekistan, Pakistan (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Afghanistan, Western Europe, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan.
Leadership:
IJU’s leader, Nijmiddin Jalalov, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in September 2009. IJU is currently based in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.[1]
Membership:
Not much is known about the group’s membership or size, however, IJU has successfully recruited German nationals in the past.
Funding Sources:
IJU has ties to the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and al-Qaeda.
Origins:
IJU was formed as a splinter group from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in the early 2000s. It was initially known as the Islamic Jihad Group before changing its name to the Islamic Jihad Union.
Major Attacks:
July 2004: IJU militants bombed the Israeli and U.S. embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
September 2007: An IJU cell in Germany attempted to construct and detonate a series of car bombs to carry out a mass attack. The militants were arrested before they could carry out the attack and were ultimately convicted.
Ideological Roots:
As a splinter of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the IJU is based on the same radical interpretation of Sunni Islam and Pan-Islamism.
Objectives:
IJU seeks to topple the Government of Uzbekistan and continues to carry out attacks against security forces in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas of Pakistan and against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Tactics:
Firearm attacks, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, and low-intensity bomb attacks.
Updated on January 6, 2016.
