The Uzbek National Security Organization has identified and terminated a secret cell affiliated to the Khorasan branch of the ISIS group in Namangan city east of the country.
The statement of the Uzbekistan National Security Service said that the group was led by a 19 -year -old girl, who was first taught religious studies at a ‘Islamic Center’ in Turkish city of Istanbul. Members of the Secret Isis Khorasan Cell, who were active in jihadi promotion in cyberspace, were mainly on the Telegram platform, mainly young men and women, and published material on social networks, who encouraged and encouraged the struggle of the Uzbek government against the government.
According to the statement, the joint operation of the organization and the internal ministry of Uzbekistan resulted in the end of the network from which books and pamphlets of jihadi materials were recovered.
The name of the 19 -year woman who led the group is not revealed, but a picture of her has been released in which her face is blurred.
Uzbekistan’s National Security Service said in a statement about the woman that she traveled to Turkey in 2022 and returned to the country with extremist trends after receiving religious education.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9XTBSY85m
The sudden change of ideas disturbed the woman’s father, but when she tried to stop her daughter from this path, she had a serious response. The statement said that he called his father an no -confidence and accused him of repetitive as he did not accept his beliefs’.
According to Uzbek National Security Service, after returning to her country, the woman organized a secret cell of at least 16 people in Namangan city. It created over 120 channels and virtual groups on Telegram Messenger, where audio and video files were published with extremist contents, ISIS symbols and jihadi content.
In some meetings, group members also promoted extremist ideas and invited the youth to ‘jihad and martyrdom’.
According to the investigation, the group demanded to attract the youth under the guise of Sharia -directed teachings and create an atmosphere of protests against the political, social and religious reforms of the Uzbek government. The statement said, “The aim of the group was to inform the youth about the spirit of jihad and educate the country on the basis of discontent with political, social and religious reforms.”
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During security operations, the houses of 16 members of the group were discovered in Namangan and seized various items, including 37 mobile phones, 51 unpoted religious books, 40 DVDs, four flash drives, a laptop and a tablet. According to security officials, these items will be used as evidence in case.
The National Security Service statement also emphasized that one of the group members was the founder of a private university in Nimangan city, which identifies the impact of the network in some educational institutions in the country.
Uzbek officials have arrested three active members, including the head of the group, and a legal case has been initiated against them. Other members of the group are still investigating.
Although this is not the first time that Uzbekistan has revealed the activities of radical Islamic groups over its territory, in a country with a religious and conservative structure, the leadership of a young woman ISIS cell refers to new dimensions in the danger of extremism in Central Asia.
Uzbekistan’s National Security Service said in another announcement that he had detained two people between 21 and 43 years of age in a separate operation, who were secretly and illegally teaching religious materials to children.
According to a security agency’s statement, the male was teaching more than 40 people, including minors in a house in Tashkent, and hid the activity from government agencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkkwxbptpeo
Although the Uzbek government has imposed strict restrictions on the distribution and broadcasting of religious materials, especially the extremist groups, including jihadi materials, ISIS Khorasan, are using social media to recruit youth in these countries and publish materials in native and ordinary languages of Central Asian countries.
In March 2023, ISIS announced the launch of a new media center called ‘Forceon al -Targama’, publishing group promotional materials in 18 languages, including languages spoken in Central Asia.
Icers Khorasan Media Center, which is in branches in Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia, produces its promotional materials through ‘Al -Zim Sansthan’ in Pashto, Persian, Uzbek, Chinese, Taji Script, Urdu, English, Arabic and many other languages.
Dozens of channels on Telegram reproduce this material, and ISIS campaigners also explain and interpret the content to group participants by conducting online classes.
