Tohir Yoʻldosh

Tohir Yo'ldosh (Uzbek: Tohir Yo'ldosh), (October 2, 1967 – October 1, 2009) cofounded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Islamist organization active in Central Asia, with Juma Namangani in August 1998.[1][2] 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.[3]

Tohir Yo'ldash
Born(1967-10-02)October 2, 1967
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
DiedOctober 1, 2009(2009-10-01) (aged 41)
Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan
Allegiance Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Battles/warsWar on Terror:

When Namangani, the IMU's military leader and cofounder, was killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001, Yo'ldosh took over the IMU's day-to-day operations as well.[4]

According to the BBC, Yo'ldosh learned al Qaeda was planning to use hijacked airliners to attack the United States on September 11, 2001, prior to the attacks.[5] 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.[6] In the video Tohir was reported to have said:

Today, our primary goal is to emancipate Iraq and Afghanistan from the American occupation.

After Baitullah Mehsud was reported to have been killed by missiles fired from an American Predator drone the Asia Times reported that Yo'ldosh had been Baitullah's ideological mentor, that Tohir had put 2,500 hardened fighters at his disposal, and that Baitullah lived with the Uzbek, who became his biggest ideological inspiration.[7]

On September 30, 2009, a man, who claimed to be Yo'ldosh's bodyguard, reported to the Pakistan newspaper The News International that Yo'ldosh was killed in a US Predator drone airstrike shortly after Mehsud's death.[8][9] US and Pakistan officials afterwards confirmed Yo'ldosh was killed in an airstrike on August 27, 2009.[10] Yuldashev reportedly lost a leg and arm in the drone missile strike on August 27, 2009 and was rushed to a private hospital in Zhob district of Balochistan where he died on October 1.[11][12] His death was formally announced by the IMU on August 16, 2010.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Pakistan's 'fanatical' Uzbek militants". BBC News. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. "Wanted: Tohir Yaldeshev". Defense Intelligence Agency. October 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  3. "In the spotlight: The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)]". Center for Defense Information. March 25, 2002. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  4. "Terrorist Organizations". World Statesmen. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  5. Kate Clark (September 7, 2002). "Taleban 'warned US of huge attack'". BBC. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved 2007-01-16. An aide to the former Taleban foreign minister, Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, has revealed that he was sent to warn American diplomats and the United Nations that Osama bin Laden was due to launch a huge attack on American soil.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. Igor Rotar (August 28, 2007). "Ferghana valley: Return of the Jihad". Eurasianet. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  7. Syed Saleem Shahzad (2009-08-08). "Baitullah: Dead or alive, his battle rages". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  8. Yusufzai, Rahimullah (2009-09-30). "Tahir Yuldachev is dead: bodyguard". The News International. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  9. David Ignatius (2010-02-17). "What the partisan squabbles miss on Obama's terror response". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2010-03-07. These raids have ravaged the top tier of al-Qaeda's lieutenants. The victims include Saleh al-Somali, the chief of external operations, who was killed Dec. 8; Abdullah Said al-Libi, the chief of operations in Pakistan, who was killed Dec. 17; and Tahir Yuldashev, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who was killed in August.
  10. "Tahir Yuldashev killed in Aug 27 drone attack". Daily Times. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  11. https://www.dawn.com/news/494141
  12. Roggio, Bill (October 4, 2009). "Tahir Yuldashev Confirmed Killed In US Strike In South Waziristan". The Long War Journal.
  13. Roggio, Bill (August 16, 2010). "Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan confirms leader Tahir Yuldashev killed". The Long War Journal.
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