Gulmurod Khalimov
Birth nameGulmurod Salimovich Khalimov
Born(1975-05-14)14 May 1975
Varzob, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union
Died8 September 2017(2017-09-08) (aged 42)
Near Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Allegiance Tajikistan (1993–2015)
 Islamic State (2015–17)
Service/branchMinistry of Internal Affairs (Tajikistan)
RankLieutenant colonel (Tajikistan)
War minister (ISIL)
Commands heldOMON (Tajikistan)[1]
Military of ISIL
Battles/warsTajikistan insurgency
Syrian Civil War

Gulmurod Salimovich Khalimov (Tajik: Гулмурод Салимович Ҳалимов) (1975–2017) was a Tajik and Islamist military commander. He was a lieutenant-colonel and commander of the police special forces of the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan until 2015, when he defected to the Islamic State.[2][3] In September 2016, he was reported to have been appointed as the minister of war of IS in place of Abu Omar al-Shishani; his appointment had not been announced by IS for fears that he might be targeted in airstrikes by the anti-IS coalition.[4] On 8 September 2017, Khalimov was allegedly killed during a Russian airstrike near Deir ez-Zor, Syria.[5] However, the Tajik government, United Nations, and the United States believed that he was still alive by 2019, though his exact fate remained disputed. By 2020, Islamist militants claimed he had died at some point; this source was considered unreliable by the Tajik government.[6] Regardless, the United States had removed Khalimov from their Rewards for Justice Program by 2021.[7]

History

Early life

He was born on 14 May 1975 in Varzob, Tajikistan, then part of the Soviet Union.[8]

Service with the Tajik security forces

Khalimov eventually joined the Tajik security forces and was trained as sniper[9][10][11] and rose to lead the Tajik OMON special forces;[1] in this position, he was considered to be "one of the best-trained officers in the country". He helped the government to repress Islamist extremists during the Tajikistan insurgency.[2][12] From 2003 to 2014, Khalimov participated in five counterterrorism training courses in the United States and in Tajikistan, through the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Security/Anti-Terrorism Assistance program.[13] There exist no sources that indicate that Khalimov ever received religious training or engaged in preaching.[9]

Disappearance

Khalimov disappeared in late April 2015[14] He was notably absent from a 6 May meeting of Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda with leading police officers at OMON's headquarters in Dushanbe.[15] According to his brother Nazir, both his phone and social media accounts had been deactivated.[16] According to family members, Khalimov left home on 13 April after giving his wife around $200 in spending money, less than the amount he frequently gave her before departing on business trips. Meanwhile, Tajik media quoted unnamed sources in law enforcement as saying Halimov left Dushanbe on May 1 along with 10 other men, later being seen at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, Asia-Plus news agency reported.[17]

Islamic State

Khalimov resurfaced on 28 May 2015 in an IS video.[18] Although hundreds of Tajiks had already joined IS by this point, Khalimov's defection was an "unprecedented case" due to his being a successful, high profile officer and part of the establishment[2] rather than the poor, from whom Islamist groups mostly recruit. According to regional expert Deirdre Tynan, Khalimov's defection was nevertheless symptomatic, as "there is an element of doubt in people within the [Tajik] civil and security services about what is the trajectory of their countries" and increasing support for radical religious ideologies.[1] Khalimov was the most prominent of the more than 2,000 Tajiks reported to have joined IS.[19]

After joining IS, Khalimov travelled to Syria, where he was war minister and became an important recruiter for the group.[20][10] Tajik security authorities claimed that Khalimov personally led a unit of 200 militants, including 50 Europeans in Syria, and was involved in planning terrorist attacks in Central Asia as well as Europe.[20] In July 2017, four of his relatives in Tajikistan were killed and three arrested by security forces; according to the government, they were IS supporters.[10]

In a 10-minute IS propaganda video clip posted in social networks, he vowed to "bring jihad to Russia", while also lambasting Tajik guest workers in Russia, referring to them as "slaves of infidels".[21]

Tajik reaction

Tajik Prosecutor-General Manuchehr Makhmudzod announced on 29 May 2015 that a probe had been opened into Khalimov's activities. The Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 3 that Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov was wanted for crimes including high treason and illegal participation in military actions abroad. "Acting for mercenary means, he joined the international terrorist organization calling itself Islamic State," the statement said.[22][23]

US and UN sanctions

On 29 September 2015, he was made subject to sanctions by the United States Department of State.[24] He was also made subject to sanctions by the United Nations Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee on 29 February 2016.[25]

In August 2016, the United States Department of State issued a $3 million USD bounty on Khalimov under its Rewards for Justice program.[26][27]

Reported death and disputes about his fate

On 8 September 2017, Khalimov was allegedly killed during a Russian airstrike near Deir ez-Zor, along with Abu Muhammad al-Shimali, with unconfirmed reports of the attack using Russia's precision BETAB-500 bunker-busting bombs.[28] The United Nations[20] and the Tajik government continued to believe that Khalimov was still alive, albeit not necessarily as a member of IS.[29] In 2019, Tajik authorities stated that Khalimov had relocated to Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan.[20] In contrast, the United Nations claimed that he was still in Syria, leading a unit of 600 Tajik militants in Idlib Governorate after losing his position as IS war minister.[20][30][28]

On 3 August 2020, Tajikistan's Minister of Internal Affairs Ramazon Rahimov declared that Tajik IS fighters had revealed that Khalimov as well as his family had been killed in an airstrike in Syria, although he later qualified his statement, arguing that these sources were not necessarily trustworthy.[29][6] Without further proof of his demise, the Tajik government continued to regard him as alive.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Roth, Andrew (30 May 2015). "Police Commander From Tajikistan Appears in ISIS Video". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Tajikistan special forces chief Gulmurod Khalimov 'joins IS'". BBC News. BBC. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Tharoor, Ishaan (28 May 2015). "The U.S.-trained commander of Tajikistan's special forces has joined the Islamic State". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  4. ↑ International Business Times (6 September 2016). "Isis: US-trained Tajik special forces chief Gulmurod Khalimov becomes Isis 'war minister'". Yahoo! News. Yahoo!. Retrieved 18 January 2017. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ "Russia says its air strike kills several top Islamic State commanders in Syria". Reuters. 8 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 Soliev 2021, pp. 32–33.
  7. ↑ "Rewards for Justice - Wanted for Terrorism". Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Counter Terrorism Designations". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Soliev 2021, p. 33.
  10. 1 2 3 "IS 'minister of war' killed in Syria air attack, claims Russia". Middle East Eye. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  11. ↑ Najibullah, Farangis (12 May 2015). "Top Tajik Cop Disappears, Sparking Alarming Reports". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Tajik officer's defection to Isis highlights US support for repressive regime". TheGuardian.com. 2 June 2015.
  13. ↑ McConnell, Dugald; Todd, Brian (30 May 2015). "Man who joined ISIS trained in the US". CNN. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Najibullah, Farangis; Ahmadi, Mumin (12 May 2015). "Top Tajik Cop Disappears, Sparking Alarming Reports". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  15. ↑ "The US trained commander of Tajikistans special forces has joined the Islamic State". The Washington Post. 28 May 2015. (subscription required)
  16. ↑ Najibullah, Farangis; Ahmadi, Mumin (12 May 2015). "Top Tajik Cop Disappears, Sparking Alarming Reports". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  17. ↑ Najibullah, Farangis; Ahmadi, Mumin (12 May 2015). "Top Tajik Cop Disappears, Sparking Alarming Reports". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  18. ↑ Solovyov, Dmitry (28 May 2015). "Commander of elite Tajik police force defects to Islamic State". Reuters. Almaty. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "Tajikistan's crackdown on observant Muslims intensifies". The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Soliev 2021, p. 32.
  21. ↑ Solovyov, Dmitry. "The US-trained commander of Tajikistan's elite police force just defected to ISIS". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  22. ↑ "U.S. Confirms Training Tajik Ex-Police Commander Who Joined IS". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Tajik OMON Commander Wanted For Treason". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Designations of Foreign Terrorist Fighters". U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Gulmurod Khalimov". United Nations Security Council. United Nations and the Security Council Affairs Division. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  26. ↑ Ernst, Douglas (31 August 2016). "State Dept. offers $3M reward for U.S.-trained Tajik officer who went rogue for ISIS". Washington Times. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Gulmurod Khalimov". Rewards for Justice. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  28. 1 2 Suchkov, Maxim A. (11 September 2017). "Don't let Islamic State slip the noose in Syria". Al-Monitor. Jamal Daniel News. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  29. 1 2 Sergey Sukhankin (4 November 2020). "The Phenomenon of Gulmurod Khalimov: Is Islamic State's War Minister Really Dead?". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  30. ↑ "S/2019/570 - e - S/2019/570".

Works cited

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