Muhojir Tactical Leadership duo Arrested in Syria
Executive Summary:
- In early October 2025, Syrian authorities arrested Muhojir Tactical leader Abu Dujanah al-Turkistani and his deputy, sparking outrage among Central Asian jihadists regarding unfulfilled promises of citizenship and military integration.
- Founded in 2022, the Uzbek-led Muhojir Tactical group provided military training and produced anti-Russian propaganda to support Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) operations while maintaining long-term ambitions to fight Central Asian regimes.
- These detentions have suspended the group’s operations, raising the possibility of the group’s dissolution or that disillusioned fighters may defect to the Islamic State or relocate to Central Asia.
In early October 2025, the General Security Directorate of the Syrian provisional government arrested Abu Dujanah al-Turkistani (Arabic: أبو دجانة التركستناني), who was one of the most prominent Uyghur jihadists in Syria (Terrorism Monitor, December 2, 2022; El Manshar, January 31; The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 15, 2025). He had also been a military instructor for the Uzbek jihadist group Tavhid va Jihod and the Chechen jihadist group Jaysh al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Arabic: جيش المهاجرين والأنصار). His detention caused dismay, anger, and frustration among Central Asian jihadist remnants in Syria, sparking a widespread social media campaign demanding his release and criticizing President Ahmed al-Shara’s government for not honoring its promises to integrate Central Asian jihadists into the armed forces and grant them Syrian citizenship (X/@G88Daniele, October 10, 2025).
Muhojir Tactical’s Evolution
In November 2022, Dujanah announced the creation of a jihadist tactical group composed of Uzbek and Kyrgyz fighters in the Idlib governorate area called Muhojir Tactical (Terrorism Monitor, December 2, 2022). Dujanah founded the group together with Uzbek jihadist fighter Abu Valid al-Shami, and the duo sought to “convey experience on a large scale and teach people how to defend their lives and handle weapons” (The Khorasan Diary, May 2, 2023). [1] From its inception, the jihadist tactical group focused on propaganda, spreading thousands of photos and dozens of training videos about the use of and modifying weapons, various military accessories, and operational tactics. Such propaganda material has been widely disseminated on social media networks (particularly on Instagram and TikTok), messaging apps, and YouTube channels, consistently reaching tens of thousands of views, especially on Russian- and Uzbek-language sites (Akhbar al-Aan, November 5, 2023).
In 2023, the group began collaborating with other jihadist groups operating in Syria, notably Malhama Tactical and Yurtugh Tactical (Akhbar al-Aan, March 6, 2023). The group, however, remained subject to the policies of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the HTS operations room, al-Fatah al-Mubin (Akhbar al-Aan, November 5, 2023). Muhojir Tactical’s objectives in Syria were to support and train Central Asian fighters and help HTS overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime. Yet, the group never hid its desire to support the fight against Russia and train “Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz, with the future goal of fighting Central Asian regimes and Russian influence” (Akhbar al-Aan, February 27, 2023).
From Media to Militant Operations
In June 2024, Muhojir Tactical launched the “Muhojir Podcast,” in which Abu Dujanah and Abu Valid al-Shami interviewed numerous fighters, leaders, and preachers from Central Asia and the Caucasus, with whom they discussed various military, ideological, and geopolitical topics (X/@88Daniele, June 30, 2024). A year and a half later, in November and December 2024, Muhojir Tactical also played a key role in military operations during the “Deter Aggression” campaign, alongside the Uzbek jihadist group Tavhid va Jihod, particularly in Aleppo, Hama, and Homs (X/@88Daniele, December 3, 2024).
In June 2025, the security forces of the local administration of Idlib—on the orders of the General Security Directorate of the Syrian provisional government led by Ahmed al-Shara—arrested Abu Dujanah at his home (News Net UZ, September 8, 2025). Later, in August, his deputy, Islom al-Uzbeki, was also arrested (KNews KG, September 9, 2025). The reasons for the arrests were unclear, but several sources claimed that the motive is linked to the accusations that Abu Dujanah and Islom al-Uzbeki have ties to criminal cells, the Islamic State (IS), or al-Qaeda, and posed a security risk to the new Syrian government (El-Manshar, September 4).
Starting on October 2, the co-founder of Muhojir Tactical and Muhojir Podcast, Uzbek jihadist Abu Valid al-Shami, launched a massive media campaign on Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram calling for the release of Abu Dujanah and Islom al-Uzbeki (X/@G88Daniele, October 2). He criticized the al-Sharaa government and accused al-Sharaa of imprisoning those who helped him overthrow the former regime.
Conclusion
The arrest of Abu Dujanah and Islom al-Uzbeki highlights how al-Sharaa is struggling to deal with the sensitive issue of foreign fighters. The new Syrian president had initially declared that he would grant citizenship to foreign jihadists who had helped HTS overthrow the former regime and would integrate them into the new Syrian army. Pressure from non-Sunni Syrian communities and certain foreign countries, such as the United States, People’s Republic of China, and Russia, however, is likely influencing the actions of al-Sharaa’s government.
Among foreign fighters, discontent has been growing for months, as demonstrated by what is happening to Uzbek fighters in Idlib and French fighters from Firqat al-Ghuraba in the Harem area, who have been repeatedly targeted by security forces and have faced accusations, investigations, and arrests (X/@88Daniele, October 21, 2025). The arrest of Muhojir Tactical’s leadership duo was a heavy blow to the group, which has since suspended all training and propaganda activities. This current situation—along with the possible deaths of its leaders—could lead to the tactical group’s dissolution. It could also lead its fighters to decide to move to other potential conflict zones, such as Central Asia, or join the ranks of Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah or the IS’s Syrian province, whose propaganda has long invited disillusioned jihadist fighters to join its ranks.
Notes
[1] The author interviewed Abu Dujanah in 2023. See, “Daniele Garofalo Monitoring: Interview with the founder of Muhojir Tactical based in Syria,” (Daniele Garofalo Monitoring, May 12, 2023).
