Tohir Yo‘ldosh
Encyclopedia
Tohir Yo‘ldosh, born Tohir Abduhalilovich Yo‘ldoshev (Russian
: Тахир Абдухалилович Юлдашев Takhir Abdukhalilovich Yuldashev), (October 2, 1967 – August 27, 2009) cofounded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
(IMU), an Islamist organization active in Central Asia
, with Juma Namangani in December 1991. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency
he was a key leader opposing US forces during Operation Anaconda
. The United Nations
considers the IMU an Islamic terrorist organization.
When anti-Taliban forces killed Namangani, the IMU's military leader and cofounder, in Afghanistan
in 2001, Yo‘ldosh took over the IMU's day-to-day operations as well.
According to the BBC
, Yo‘ldosh learned that al Qaeda was planning to use hijacked airliners to attack the United States
on September 11, 2001, prior to the attacks.
The BBC reported that Yo‘ldosh then informed the Taliban Foreign Minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
, who sent an envoy to warn the USA of al Qaeda's attack plans prior to September 11, 2001. According to the BBC Yo‘ldosh was told to initiate an advance warning to the USA of the attacks because he was concerned that an al Qaeda attack on the USA would trigger an American counter-attack, which would imperil the safe haven his group had been enjoying in Afghanistan.
A video message from Tohir Yo‘ldosh was reportedly distributed throughout the Uzbek
areas of Central Asia in early 2007. In the video Tohir was reported to have said:
After Baitullah Mehsud
was reported to have been killed by missiles fired from an American Predator drone the Asia Times
reported that Yoldashev had been Baitullah's ideological mentor, that Yoldeshev had put 2,500 hardened fighters at his disposal, and that Baitullah lived with the Uzbek, who became his biggest ideological inspiration.
On September 30, 2009, a man, who claimed to be Yuldashev's bodyguard, reported to the Pakistan newspaper The News International
that Yuldashev was killed in a US Predator drone airstrike
shortly after Mehsud's death.
US and Pakistan officials afterwards confirmed Yuldashev was killed in an airstrike on August 27, 2009. Yo'ldosh reportedly lost a leg and arm in the drone missile strike on August 27, 2009 and was rushed to a hospital in Zhob in Baluchistan, but died the next day. August 16, 2010 Furqun, an Uzbek-language website run by the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, put up two images of Yuldahsev, who was described as "Shaheed Mohammed Tahir," and said he was "slain." Shaheed is a term used by Islamist groups to describer martyrs who are killed in combat. The IMU did not indicate how or when Yuldashev was killed. On August 17, 2010 Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan announced its new leader, just one day after confirming the death of Tahir Yuldashev.
Abu Usman Adil announced that he is the new leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, in a statement released on the terror group's website, Furqon. In the online statement, Usman said Yuldashev was killed as a result of the Aug. 27, 2009, US Predator airstrike in South Waziristan. Prior to assuming control of the IMU, Abu Usman served for years as Yuldashev's deputy.
Usman also called for his followers to wage jihad in the southern portion of Kyrgyzstan. A month after the strike last year that targeted Yuldashev as he met with South Waziristan tribal leader Mullah Nazir, a controversy over Yuldashev's reported death emerged. While the IMU officially denied that Yuldashev had been killed, members of the terror group, including one of Yuldashev's bodyguards, claimed that the emir had indeed been killed. Both Abu Usman and an IMU spokesman known as Zubair ibn Abdurakhman were said to have replaced Yuldashev. Confusion over the status of Yuldashev and the leadership of the IMU abounded within the terror group in the aftermath of the Aug. 27, 2009, airstrike, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. Yuldashev was not killed during or immediately after the Aug. 27 airstrike, but died much later of complications from wounds suffered in the strike. Top IMU leaders were jockeying for control of the group while Yuldashev attempted to recover from his injuries. Yuldashev was close to Osama bin Laden and was also a member of al Qaeda's top council, the Shura Majlis.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Тахир Абдухалилович Юлдашев Takhir Abdukhalilovich Yuldashev), (October 2, 1967 – August 27, 2009) cofounded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
(IMU), an Islamist organization active in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, with Juma Namangani in December 1991. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
he was a key leader opposing US forces during Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
considers the IMU an Islamic terrorist organization.
When anti-Taliban forces killed Namangani, the IMU's military leader and cofounder, in 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...
in 2001, Yo‘ldosh took over the IMU's day-to-day operations as well.
According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Yo‘ldosh learned that al Qaeda was planning to use hijacked airliners to attack the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on September 11, 2001, prior to the attacks.
The BBC reported that Yo‘ldosh then informed the Taliban Foreign Minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil
Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil was the last Foreign Minister in the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Prior to this he served as spokesman and secretary to Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban. After the Northern Alliance accompanied by U.S...
, who sent an envoy to warn the USA of al Qaeda's attack plans prior to September 11, 2001. According to the BBC Yo‘ldosh was told to initiate an advance warning to the USA of the attacks because he was concerned that an al Qaeda attack on the USA would trigger an American counter-attack, which would imperil the safe haven his group had been enjoying in Afghanistan.
A video message from Tohir Yo‘ldosh was reportedly distributed throughout the Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
areas of Central Asia in early 2007. In the video Tohir was reported to have said:
After Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
was reported to have been killed by missiles fired from an American Predator drone the Asia Times
Asia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
reported that Yoldashev had been Baitullah's ideological mentor, that Yoldeshev had put 2,500 hardened fighters at his disposal, and that Baitullah lived with the Uzbek, who became his biggest ideological inspiration.
On September 30, 2009, a man, who claimed to be Yuldashev's bodyguard, reported to the Pakistan newspaper The News International
The News International
The News International , published in tabloid size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. The News has an ABC certified circulation of 140,000. It is published from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad...
that Yuldashev was killed in a US Predator drone airstrike
Drone attacks in Pakistan
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
shortly after Mehsud's death.
US and Pakistan officials afterwards confirmed Yuldashev was killed in an airstrike on August 27, 2009. Yo'ldosh reportedly lost a leg and arm in the drone missile strike on August 27, 2009 and was rushed to a hospital in Zhob in Baluchistan, but died the next day. August 16, 2010 Furqun, an Uzbek-language website run by the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, put up two images of Yuldahsev, who was described as "Shaheed Mohammed Tahir," and said he was "slain." Shaheed is a term used by Islamist groups to describer martyrs who are killed in combat. The IMU did not indicate how or when Yuldashev was killed. On August 17, 2010 Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan announced its new leader, just one day after confirming the death of Tahir Yuldashev.
Abu Usman Adil announced that he is the new leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, in a statement released on the terror group's website, Furqon. In the online statement, Usman said Yuldashev was killed as a result of the Aug. 27, 2009, US Predator airstrike in South Waziristan. Prior to assuming control of the IMU, Abu Usman served for years as Yuldashev's deputy.
Usman also called for his followers to wage jihad in the southern portion of Kyrgyzstan. A month after the strike last year that targeted Yuldashev as he met with South Waziristan tribal leader Mullah Nazir, a controversy over Yuldashev's reported death emerged. While the IMU officially denied that Yuldashev had been killed, members of the terror group, including one of Yuldashev's bodyguards, claimed that the emir had indeed been killed. Both Abu Usman and an IMU spokesman known as Zubair ibn Abdurakhman were said to have replaced Yuldashev. Confusion over the status of Yuldashev and the leadership of the IMU abounded within the terror group in the aftermath of the Aug. 27, 2009, airstrike, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. Yuldashev was not killed during or immediately after the Aug. 27 airstrike, but died much later of complications from wounds suffered in the strike. Top IMU leaders were jockeying for control of the group while Yuldashev attempted to recover from his injuries. Yuldashev was close to Osama bin Laden and was also a member of al Qaeda's top council, the Shura Majlis.