October in Ingushetia started off in the usual way, with routine shootouts and attacks on military personnel. There were, however, more important events for the republican government to attend to, such as the picketing that the Ingush opposition managed to stage in Moscow. The governor... MORE

On October 6, the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov held a meeting of his government’s anti-terrorist commission in the town of Baksan. Kanokov met with the parents of suspected insurgents. The town of Baksan was chosen for the meeting because Baksan district is known as... MORE

Beijing and Tashkent have shared concerns and threat perceptions that make them natural allies in coordinating a wide variety of policy decisions. China traditionally has resented the presence of foreign military contingents of hostile and/or competing countries in its neighborhood, fearing possible encirclement and containment... MORE

The news from Dagestan in September was dominated by reports of militant actions, special operations and terror attacks, but the most worrying development has been the occurrence of multiple kidnappings by both security forces and militants. Indeed, kidnappings are the only events that lead people... MORE

The ethnically and culturally complex region of the Fergana Valley is divided among three countries: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz and the Tajik parts of the Fergana Valley are geographically closer to Uzbekistan than to the capitals of their own countries. Tashkent is only... MORE

TURKISTAN ISLAMIC PARTY’S ABDUL SHAKOOR TURKISTANI KILLED IN FATA AIR STRIKE The amir of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), Abdul Shakoor Turkistani (see Militant Leadership Monitor, December 2011), was killed in an air strike on his training camp in the Shawal Valley of Pakistan on August 24, 2012.... MORE

Riyaz Ismail Shahbandari aka Riyaz Bhatkal is one of the top Indian jihadis and co-founders of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). He is the younger brother of IM ideologue, Iqbal Bhatkal, another co-founder of the IM. [1] Riyaz has been involved in several high profile terrorist... MORE

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) announced on August 4 that its leader Usman Odil had been martyred and his deputy, Usman Gazi, would replace him as Amir (commander) of the IMU (furqon.com, August 26, 2012). The announcement was preceded by press reports from Pakistan that said Usman Odil had... MORE

The Afghan newspaper Arman-e-Malli carried one of the first reports about members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) operating in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province in August, 2009. In January 2010, Kunduz governor Mohammad Omar, who was assassinated seven months later in a bombing at a mosque in... MORE

The Bajaur chapter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been facing displacement from their native Bajaur Agency since August, 2008 due to a Pakistani military operation named “Sherdil” (Urdu for “Lion Heart”). It is also witnessing rising inter-Taliban and intra-Taliban group differences, coupled with leadership... MORE