Hasan Mahsum
Encyclopedia
Hasan Mahsum, also known as Abu-Muhammad al-Turkestani and Ashan Sumut, was the founder and leader of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement
, considered an Islamic terrorist organization by China and the US and suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda.
He was shot dead in a counter-terrorism operation on October 2, 2003 by the Pakistani Army.
early in his life; in his late 20s, he was already a lecturer at a training camp in Yecheng County, preaching Jihad
and advocating the use of violence against Chinese authorities. He was arrested in October 1993 by the Chinese police for terrorist activities and sentenced to three years of re-education through labour. After fleeing China in 1997, Mahsum lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan; he held an Afghan passport issued by the Taliban. In early 1999, he was said to have met with Osama bin Laden
, who offered him US$300,000 of financial assistance for the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in the following year; Mahsum himself denied any connection with bin Laden. The Chinese government has accused him of directing a series of violent terrorist activities including robbery and murder in Urumqi
on February 4, 1999 and violent murders in the Khotan
region on December 14, 1999; it is believed that these attacks were actually carried out by an operative of his named Mutalif Kasim.
In a January 2002 interview with Radio Free Asia
Mahsum denied ever receiving any support from al Qaeda.
training camp by the Pakistan Army
in South Waziristan
, near the Afghan
border, on October 2, 2003. The Pakistani army attacked an al-Qaeda hideout in South Waziristan
near the border with Afghanistan
on 2 October 2003, shooting and killing eight terrorists, including Mahsum. The Beijing News and International Herald Leader initially reported that the United States worked with Pakistan in a joint counter-terrorism operation, but Major General Shaukat Sultan, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, denied U.S. military involvement. Sultan said "DNA tests were conducted to determine it was him." The Chinese government assisted in identifying his body.
East Turkestan Islamic Movement
The East Turkestan Islamic Movement The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) (also known as the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), and other names; is a Waziri based mujahideen organization. Its stated goals are the independence of East Turkestan and the...
, considered an Islamic terrorist organization by China and the US and suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda.
He was shot dead in a counter-terrorism operation on October 2, 2003 by the Pakistani Army.
Political activities
Mahsum, a native of Shule (Kunixar) County, became involved with the East Turkestan independence movementEast Turkestan independence movement
The East Turkestan independence movement is a broad term that refers to advocates of an independent, self-governing East Turkestan in the region now known as Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the People's Republic of China.-Historical background:...
early in his life; in his late 20s, he was already a lecturer at a training camp in Yecheng County, preaching Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
and advocating the use of violence against Chinese authorities. He was arrested in October 1993 by the Chinese police for terrorist activities and sentenced to three years of re-education through labour. After fleeing China in 1997, Mahsum lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan; he held an Afghan passport issued by the Taliban. In early 1999, he was said to have met with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, who offered him US$300,000 of financial assistance for the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in the following year; Mahsum himself denied any connection with bin Laden. The Chinese government has accused him of directing a series of violent terrorist activities including robbery and murder in Urumqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
on February 4, 1999 and violent murders in the Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
region on December 14, 1999; it is believed that these attacks were actually carried out by an operative of his named Mutalif Kasim.
In a January 2002 interview with Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates a radio station and Internet news service. RFA was founded by an act of the US Congress and is operated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors . The RFA is supported in part by grants from the federal government of the United States...
Mahsum denied ever receiving any support from al Qaeda.
Death
Chinese, Pakistani, and US officials confirm that Mahsum was shot dead in an early-morning raid on a suspected al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
training camp by the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
, near the Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
border, on October 2, 2003. The Pakistani army attacked an al-Qaeda hideout in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
near the border with Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
on 2 October 2003, shooting and killing eight terrorists, including Mahsum. The Beijing News and International Herald Leader initially reported that the United States worked with Pakistan in a joint counter-terrorism operation, but Major General Shaukat Sultan, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, denied U.S. military involvement. Sultan said "DNA tests were conducted to determine it was him." The Chinese government assisted in identifying his body.
External links
- Spokesperson's remarks on the Death of Hasan Mahsum, Head of the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement
- al-Qaeda suspect identified
- Chinese terrorist killed by Pakistan Army
- China-Pakistan Military Exercises
- Uyghur Separatist Denies Links to Taliban, Al-Qaeda
- China's terror list and its implications