Islamists from Syria in Afghanistan raises alarm bells in region and India

Syrian Islamists of Central Asian origin who played a role in regime change in Damascus have been located in Afghanistan raising alarms in the Taliban regime, Central Asian Republics and the Indian security establishment.

The Islamists have been located in Badakhshan, Baghlan and Herat provinces of Afghanistan threatening local security with potential spillover impact in Central Asian republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as on India’s interests in the region, ET has learnt.

Kyrgyzstan while not sharing any common border with Afghanistan is also apprehensive of the rise of radicals. It has foiled two coup attempts with foreign links since the early part of this year.

Tajikistan faces a threat from ISIS, with the group releasing a video to target the government in Dushanbe. It is in this context that Russia recently held a counter-terror exercise with its ally Tajikistan and has delisted Taliban from list of terror groups eyeing its support in the Af-Pak region.

ISIS has been trying to establish its presence in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region with an intention to target secular regimes in Central Asia as well as Taliban. There are unconfirmed reports of ISIS being trained in Balochistan province of Pakistan with support from the Pakistan Army.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is now active in the governance structure of Bangladesh, has also made inroads into Kyrgyzstan.

India is keeping a close watch on the Central Asian situation along Afghanistan’s borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, fearful of a resurgence of the radical Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) following the change of guard in Syria that brought extremists to power.

Uzbekistan, like Tajikistan, is apprehensive of the growing influence of radicals having links with extremists in Syria and operating out of Afghanistan with an aim to oust existing secular regimes in Central Asia, according to people familiar with the region.

The recent “success” of radicals and extremists in Syria has inspired Islamists in Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, amid participation of certain Eurasian radicals in the Syrian theatre, they said.

ET had reported in January that Saifiddin Tadjiboev, a native of Tajikistan, had joined as “colonel” in the Islamist-led Syrian Army and could emerge as the kingpin for terrorist activities in Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan. Tadjiboev’s appointment as Koid Amaliyat Fil-Livo, or chief of staff of the operations directorate of the defence ministry of the new Syrian government, was welcomed by extremists from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, ET had then reported.