Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria

The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (TIP; Arabic: الحزب الإسلامي التركستاني في سوريا‎) is the Syrian branch of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an armed Uyghur Salafist jihadist group with a presence in the Syrian Civil War. While the TIP has been active in Syria, the organization's core leadership is based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a presence in its home territory of China.[14]

Turkistan Islamic Party
Türkistan İslam Derneği
الحزب الإسلامي التركستاني
突厥斯坦伊斯兰党
Leaders
Dates of operation2015 – present
MotivesTo establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang and the entirety of Central Asia, eventually a caliphate[3]
HeadquartersJisr al-Shughur, Idlib Governorate, Syria[4][5]
Active regionsIdlib Governorate, Latakia Governorate, and Aleppo Governorate, Syria
IdeologySalafism

Islamic fundamentalism

Pan-Islamism
StatusActive
Size~4,000[6][7]
Part of
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

History

TIP (ETIM) sent the "Turkistan Brigade" (Katibat Turkistani), also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria to take part in the Syrian Civil War, most noticeably in the 2015 Jisr al-Shughur offensive.[15][16] Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria include the Syrian branch of the Chechen Caucasus Emirate, Uzbek militants, and the Turkistan Islamic Party.[17]

TIP has participated in:

Syrian Churches have been demolished by Turkistan Islamic Party Uyghur fighters, who exalted in the acts of destruction, and in Homs and Idlib battlefields the Turkistan Islamic Party cooperated with Uzbek brigades and Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat al-Nusra and IS (ISIL) compete with each other to recruit Uyghur fighters.[18] In Jisr al-Shughur a Church's cross had a TIP flag placed on top of it after the end of the battle.[19] The Uzbek group Katibat al-Tawhid wal Jihad (Tavhid va Jihod katibasi) released a video featuring themselves and the Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party attacking and desecrating Christian Churches in Jisr al-Shughur.[20][21][22] Jabhat al Nusra and Turkistan Islamic Party fighters were accused of displacing Christian residents of rural Jisr al-Shughour, and reportedly killed a Syrian Christian man along with his wife, accusing them of being Syrian government agents.[23] The Saudi news agency Al-Arabiya said that the area was Alawite.[24][25]

Turkistan Islamic Party has exploited the Turkish Postal Service and Turkish banks to solicit donations via the organization "Türkistan İslam Derneği" through the website "Doğu Türkistan Bülteni".[26]

Child soldiers

Camps training children for Jihad are being run by the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.[27][28][29] Uyghur child soldiers being instructed in Sharia and training with guns were depicted in a video released by TIP.[30]

Route into Syria

According to the Jamestown Foundation, Turkish connections were used by Uyghur fighters to go into Syria and the humanitarian Uyghur East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association (ETESA) which is located in Turkey sent Uyghurs into Syria, endorsed the killing of the pro-China Imam Juma Tayir, applauded attacks in China, and posted on its website content from the TIP.[31]

Its top commander Abu Omar al-Turkistani who also served as the group's first overall leader was killed in an American drone strike in Sarmada, Idlib on 1 January 2017. His replacement leader Abu Rida al-Turkistani was then killed in a series of Russian airstrikes on his home near the town of Ariha on 12 January 2017 leaving his entire family dead as well.[2] Ibrahim Mansour succeeded Abu Rida al-Turkistani as the third leader of TIP since then.

References
  1. Caleb Weiss (14 February 2017). "Uighur jihadist fought in Afghanistan, killed in Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20170113222919/https://microsyria.com/2017/01/13/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%8D-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B3%D8%AA/
  3. Sami Moubayed (29 September 2015). Under the Black Flag: At the Frontier of the New Jihad. I.B.Tauris. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-0-85772-921-7.
  4. "TIP Division in Syria Releases Video Promoting Cause, Inciting for Jihad". SITE Institute. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. turkistanhaber (6 February 2016). "Türkistan İslam Cemaati'nden Yeni Video " Zafer Sadece Allahtan'dır 2 " |". Doguturkistanbulteni.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  6. AP Exclusive: Uighurs fighting in Syria take aim at China. Associated Press. December 22, 2017. "Uighur activists and Syrian and Chinese officials estimate that at least 5,000 Uighurs have gone to Syria to fight — though many have since left. Among those, several hundred have joined the Islamic State, according to former fighters and Syrian officials."
  7. team, Reality Check (22 June 2019). "Syria: Who's in control of Idlib?" – via www.bbc.com.
  8. Zelin, Aaron Y. "New video message from al-Muhājirūn: "The Return of Jaysh al-Fataḥ" | JIHADOLOGY: A clearinghouse for jihādī primary source material, original analysis, and translation service". Jihadology.net. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. "China's Counter-Terrorism Calculus". Jamestown.
  10. "Beijing, Kunming, Urumqi and Guangzhou: The Changing Landscape of Anti-Chinese Jihadists". Jamestown Foundation. 23 May 2014.
  11. Zenn, Jacob (10 October 2014). "An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq". China Brief. The Jamestown Foundation. 14 (19). Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  12. "Syrian rebels pour men and missiles into frontlines". The Fiscal Times. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. Barić, Joško (13 March 2018). "Syrian War Daily – 13th of March 2018".
  14. "Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria shows more 'little jihadists' | FDD's Long War Journal". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  15. Weiss, Caleb (23 April 2015). "Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria involved in new Idlib offensive". Long War Journal.
  16. Weiss, Caleb (30 April 2015). "Turkistan Islamic Party had significant role in recent Idlib offensive". Long War Journal.
  17. Joscelyn, Thomas (29 September 2015). "US counterterrorism efforts in Syria: A winning strategy?". Long War Journal.
  18. Gurcan, Metin (9 September 2015). "How the Islamic State is exploiting Asian unrest to recruit fighters". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
  19. Zelin, Aaron Y. (1 May 2015). "Ṣawt al-Islām presents a new video message from Ḥizb al-Islāmī al-Turkistānī [Turkistan Islamic Party] in Bilād al-Shām: "Conquest of Jisr al-Shaghūr"". JIHADOLOGY.
  20. "Al-Qaeda-Aligned Central Asian Militants in Syria Separate from Islamic State-Aligned IMU in Afghanistan". Jamestown.
  21. "Syriancivilwararchive.com". syriancivilwararchive.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  22. "Modern Tokyo Times".
  23. "إعدام رجل وزوجته بريف جسر الشغور واتهامات لفصيل إسلامي بتنفيذ الإعدام • المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان".
  24. Hage, Mohanad. "China's proxy war in Syria: Revealing the role of Uighur fighters". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  25. "China's proxy war in Syria: Revealing the Uighur fighters' role". Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  26. Rodeheffer, Luke (20 September 2016). "Turkish Organizations Exploited in Terror Finance Scheme". Flashpoint - BUSINESS RISK INTELLIGENCE. Flashpoint. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017.
  27. Weiss, Caleb (4 September 2015). "Saudi al Qaeda cleric showcases training camp for children in Syria". Long War Journal.
  28. "TIP Division in Syria Releases Photos of Fighters, Camp for Children | Jihadist News". news.siteintelgroup.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  29. "TIP Division in Syria Releases Video Photo Album Featuring Young Boys in Training Camp | Jihadist News". news.siteintelgroup.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  30. Roggio, Bill; Weiss, Caleb (24 September 2015). "Uighur jihadist group in Syria advertises 'little jihadists'". Long War Journal.
  31. Zenn, Jacob (10 October 2014). "An Overview of Chinese Fighters and Anti-Chinese Militant Groups in Syria and Iraq". China Brief. The Jamestown Foundation. 14 (19). Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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