Erlan Karin the SOLDIERS of the CALIPHATE

The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Karin THE SOLDIERS OF THE CALIPHATE: THE ANATOMY OF A TERRORIST GROUP Astana, 2016 UDC 323(1-87) BibTex 66,3(0) C23 Recommended for publication by the Research Council of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan C23 Erlan Karin. The Soldiers of the Caliphate: The Anatomy of a Terrorist Group. – Astana, 2016. – 154 p. ISBN 978-601-7242-89-3 The Book of the well-known Kazakhstani political scientist Erlan Karin, “The Soldiers of the Caliphate: the Anatomy of a Terrorist Group”, provides answers to the numerous questions about the Jund al-Khilafah group known from 2011. During research the author was able to systematize not only the available information about the group but also retrieve undisclosed data that has never been published before. ISBN 978-601-7242-89-3 UDC 327 BibTex 66, 3(0) © Кarin E., 2016 © КazISS, 2016 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......................................................................................5 1. THE SOLDIERS OF THE CALIPHATE: EPISODE ONE...............8 2. VIRTUAL WAR CHRONICLES..........................................................17 - The Chronology of Public Messages - The General Analysis of Informational Campaigns Held by Soldiers of the Caliphate 3. THE EMIR AND HIS SOLDIERS.......................................................36 - Moez Garsallaoui - The Role of Garsallaoui in Activities of the Soldiers of the Caliphate - Is Garsallaoui a mentor of the Toulouse Gunman? 4. EMERGENCE OF RADICAL NETWORK IN KAZAKHSTAN...................................................................................61 - Central Asia is a target of the Islamic Jihad Union - The Deployment of the Terrorist Network in Kazakhstan - The Structure of Central Asian Mujahideen Jamaat - The Сhronicle of the Terrorist Attacks - The Influence of the Tashkent Terrorist Attacks on Relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan - The Emergence of the Autonomous Terrorist Cells in Kazakhstan 5. THE KAZAKHSTANI FIGHTERS IN THE AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTANI BORDER ZONE..........................85 - The KIJ Structure - The Departure of Kazakhstani Citizens to Afghanistan - The Relationship between the Kazakh Jamaat and the Islamic Jihad Union 3 6. THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE CALIPHATE...............................................100 - The Structure of Jund al-Khilafah - The Detection and the Liquidation of Kazakhstani Cells - The Anatomy of the Terrorist Attack: The Unsuccessful Attempts in Almaty and Atyrau - The Planning and the Conducting of the Informational Campaign - The Ideological Stance of Jund al-Khilafah - The General Chronicles of Jund al-Khilafah 7. THE SOLDIERS OF THE CALIPHATE: EPISODE TWO.............128 - The Other Soldiers: “Jaishul Mahdi” and “Jamaat Ansarullah” - The road to Syria 4 INTRODUCTION A few years ago, the sudden emergence of a new mysteri- ous and radical group with a combative and intimidating name, “Soldiers of the Caliphate”, immediately raised numerous questions not only among experts but also among common people. For many of us, the threat of terrorism had always seemed very distant, ghostly, and almost virtual. Perplexity and anxiety were further aggravated by the lack of clear and accessible information from authorities who hadn’t confirmed the fact of the existence of such groups in the beginning. Later, when the reality of the existence of this group was recognized, authorities provided little data, lacking in thorough information regarding the location of the group, its founders and what goals it pursued. For instance, the leaders or representatives of this group were not confirmed as mass media or social networks had named different figures. Many experts, both now and then, have expressed their doubts regarding the existence of this group or its ability to pose a seri- ous threat to the state and the public – and it had certain grounds. Various information and data, which had become known later, was extremely controversial. Even now, it is believed that this group was coined by special services. Also, it is believed that the degree of threat from this group was greatly exaggerated. This study was undertaken in order to analyze the facts be- hind the events of Autumn 2011, and find out who was hiding under the masks of the so-called “Soldiers of the Caliphate”. I confess that until the last moment I had many doubts and worries about the rationale not only of the study, but even more about publishing it as a book. This topic is quite specific, and not all conclusions or statements should be disclosed to the public. How- 5 The Soldiers of the Caliphate: The Anatomy of a Terrorist Group ever, the author was guided by a simple idea: one of the major goals of terrorism is to spread panic and fear in societies; igno- rance and lack of competent analysis are both supporting factors in realizing this aim. This is why I decided to collect this information; systematize and analyze it; and publish it in this book. In other countries, you can find dozens or even hundreds of publi- cations thoroughly scrutinizing similar events: chronicles of the 9/11 tragedy, Bin Laden’s biographies, destruction of the Kursk submarine, airplane crashes, and countless others. The main pur- poses of this work are to update the problems of combating terrorism and warning young people from possible involvement in radical movements. The study was carried out in several phases. Mass media material was analyzed alongside the files of criminals convicted of “terrorism”, including Jund al-Khilafah members. To obtain objective data, not only did we analyze criminal files, but we also had personal meetings with the convicts, their relatives and friends. Eventually, the collected data was used to compile a de- tailed chronology of the terrorist threat unfolding in Kazakhstan from 2002 to 2013, to classify terrorist groups and to paint the portraits of their leaders, etc. The research of terror threat evolu- tion in Kazakhstan is to be published in a separate issue. Thus, the materials about Jund al-Khilafah have been presented in a separate study. While researching the history of this group, it be- came clear that collecting materials within Kazakhstan alone is not sufficient. This group, though quite small, was very much international. Its traces lead to numerous places around the world. During the research, trips were undertaken to Afghanistan, Tur- key, France, Spain, as well as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Most videos and transcripts of messages broadcast by the group were 6 1. The Soldiers of the Caliphate: Episode One examined in the USA, where specialized centers that monitor the activities of different extremist groups collect and store archives with documents of this type. I would like to convey special thanks to my colleagues and friends, all those who helped me in gathering and analyzing the collected materials – well-known American expert and analyst of the Jamestown Foundation, Jacob Zenn (Washington, USA); CNN security expert, Paul Cruickshank (New York, USA); jour- nalist and writer of the book on the Toulouse terrorist attack, Eric Peltier (Paris, France). This book summarizes the facts and data on the hierarchy and structure of this terrorist group, its mechanisms of planning and carrying out informational campaigns and its interaction with other structures. It provides analysis of the radical network cre- ated in Kazakhstan and the creation of autonomous cells, which were activated later. It separately reviews various international terrorist organizations in the zone of the Afghan-Pakistan border. Additionally, it presents a comparative analysis of the Jund al- Khilafah activities with the same Central Asian structures. I hope this research material will be useful for students, journalists, experts and specialists who are also investigating the contemporary issues of security and combating terrorism in theory and practice. 7 The Soldiers of the Caliphate: The Anatomy of a Terrorist Group 1. THE SOLDIERS OF THE CALIPHATE: EPISODE ONE In 2011, Kazakhstan faced direct threats of terrorism for the first time. Throughout the year, various parts of the country witnessed a number of terrorist acts, which later attracted wide public attention. In the beginning, the Kazakhstani authorities and special services refused to acknowledge the events as acts of terrorism and denied the affiliation of individuals arrested or liquidated during raids with terrorist groups. However, a series of various events clearly showed that radical groups have emerged in the country. Below are a few facts April 2011 – The Sunkar, an elite special unit of the Minis- try of Internal Affairs, carried out an undercover operation against an extremist group in Almaty. Two suspects were liquidated and eleven Sunkar officers were injured during the raid. The injured leader of the group blew himself up with a hand-grenade when the officers tried to seize him. May 17 – a suicide bomber, allegedly, from an extremist organization, detonated himself inside the building of the Depart- ment of National Security Committee of Aktobe Region. May 24 – a car was blown up in front of a temporary deten- tion facility of the Department of Committee of Astana. A power- ful sheath-less explosive device killed two people in the car. July 1 – two police officers were killed in the village of Shubarshi in the Temir District of Aktobe region. According to special services,

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