Tawhid wal-Jihad: Newcomer to international terrorist lists

In a new step towards curbing al-Qaeda around the world, the US State Department announced on Monday, March 7, the inclusion of the group known as Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ) in northern Syria, which is close to al-Qaeda, to the terrorist list. A resolution in the Security Council has also added KTJ to the sanctions list particular to ISIS and al-Qaeda, which obliges all UN member states to implement an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo against the group. What is that battalion?

Group of Uzbeks

KTJ, a group of Uzbeks and Tajiks, is one of the most prominent arms of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), having joined the latter in 2015 after many Uzbeks joined the conflict in Syria.

Uzbek elements gather in the mountainous areas of northwestern Syria, especially in the coastal mountains, and are considered among the most dangerous militants in Syria due to their experience in the battles in which they participated in conflict areas, especially Afghanistan.

KTJ operates under the banner of the Abu Obeida bin al-Jarrah Brigade affiliated with HTS. The most prominent of its operations were those that it launched in August 2021 against the Syrian Arab Army forces in the village of Hantoutin in the city of Maarat al-Numan, south of Idlib, which led to the killing of three Uzbeks, while two army officers and four soldiers were killed.

Targeting members of the Syrian Arab Army

KTJ focuses its activities on targeting members of the Syrian Arab Army, as its thermal sniper unit often announces sniping and targeting members of the army forces stationed in the surrounding areas.

The brigade was founded by Sirajuddin Mukhtarov, nicknamed Abu Saloh al-Uzbeki. Mukhtarov, 30, hails from Kyrgyzstan and oversaw many terrorist operations, including the bombing of the St. Petersburg metro in Russia in 2017, of which he was the mastermind.

Mukhtarov arrived in Idlib in 2015 and founded KTJ from a group of Uzbeks infiltrating into Syria, quickly joining the Al-Nusra Front, which later turned into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

He then defected from HTS, and joined its rival, Ansar al-Din, which led to his arrest by HTS members.

Mukhtarov is considered one of the most wanted persons by Interpol, as he was charged with carrying out terrorist attacks, fraud and illegal border crossing.