Friday, May 29, 2015

Top Commander Of Tajikistan’s Special Forces Has Joined The Islamic State

Gulmorad Halimov's relatives say he disappeared on April 23 after telling his wife he would be traveling on business for three days

Washington Post: The U.S.-trained commander of Tajikistan’s special forces has joined the Islamic State

In late April, the chief of an elite police unit in Tajikistan disappeared. Relatives said Col. Gulmurod Khalimov, who commanded the Tajik Interior Ministry's special forces, had gone on a business trip. Other rumors suggested he had vanished after falling out with colleagues at a high-level meeting.

Now, there appears to be more clarity: Khalimov is in Syria and has defected to the Islamic State

That's according to a recent video that emerged online showing Khalimov clad in black and espousing the cause of the jihadist organization. It's hard to tell where the footage was shot, but in the video, Khalimov claims to have joined the Islamic State, making him one of the most high-profile central Asians to travel to Syria and enter the extremists' ranks. He also made clear he's not alone.

More News On The Top Commander Of Tajikistan’s Special Forces Joining The Islamic State

Tajikistan special forces chief Gulmurod Khalimov 'joins IS' -- BBC
Missing Tajik Police Commander Appears On Internet, Says Has Joined IS -- Radio Free Europe
Missing Tajikistan police chief defects to the Islamic State -- The Telegraph
Tajikistan police chief defects to Isis -- The Guardian
US and Russia-trained Tajik special police head defects to ISIS, swears jihad -- RT

3 comments:

James said...

This is just a glimpse of the troubles that are in extant in central asia. There are deep deep problems there and if Putin doesn't consider this area his number one threat to Russia, I would be very surprised.

Anonymous said...

Better to have your enemy in the open than back stabbing you

James said...

That's one of the problems Anon, he might be in the open, but what about those who remained and some of whom may still be in contact with Halimov. The reliability of each and everyone of the Central Asian Republic's security organizations must be suspect by any standard.