Jamaat Ansarullah

Jamaat Ansarullah
Jamaat Ansarullah
جماعت انصارالله ; Ҷамоати Ансоруллоҳ
	Flag used by Jamaat Ansarullah
Leaders	Amriddin Tobarov (2006–2015) ; Muhammad Shafirov (2015–present)
Dates of operation	2006–present
Allegiance	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (since 2021, denied by Afghan Taliban)
Motives	To turn Tajikistan into an Islamic Emirate like Afghanistan; To change the Perso-Arabic; To abolish the Russian language from the official status;
Headquarters	Islamic State-Taliban conflict ; Republican insurgency in Afghanistan
Designated as a terrorist group by	Tajikistan
	Preceded by; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ; United Tajik Opposition (anti-armistice faction)

Jamaat Ansarullah (Tajik: Ҷамоати Ансоруллоҳ, Persian: جماعت انصارالله), is a Tajik Islamist militant movement currently based out of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. It is related to al-Qaeda.

History

Jamaat Ansarullah was founded in 2006 under the leadership of Amriddin Tabarov which was composed of Islamist and opposition members who refused to accept the 1997 armistice ending the Tajik Civil War. It gained prominence in 2010 when it perpetrated a suicide bombing in the city Khujand, Tajikistan targeting a police station. Three were killed and 25 were wounded. The group was banned by the Tajik government in 2012.

In 2015, the group's founder was killed by the Afghan National Security Forces. He would be succeeded by the son of one of his closest associates, Muhammad Shafirov, who is better known as Mahdi Arsalon.

During the 2021 summer offensive, the Afghan Taliban gave the Tajiki Taliban, and by extension Arsalon, security control over five districts in northern Badakhshan province.^[3]

In September 2021, Arsalon was reportedly planning to invade Tajikistan and consulted the Taliban Islamic Movement for operational guidance.^[4]

Manpower and recruitment

Much of them are the children and relatives of the original generation of fighters. Other reports indicate it has less than 100 fighters.^[4]

Ansarullah also recruits from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia. The individual who perpetrated the 2010 suicide bombing of a police station in Khujand was reported to have been trained in an al-Qaeda training camp.^[4]

Actions

The Tajik Taliban has operated out of northern Afghanistan since its founding receiving support from the

Kuf Ab, Khwahan, Maimay, Nusay, and Shekay. They also control Jawand and Ab Kamari in Badghis Province

.

After building the watch tower, Tajikistan began taking the group seriously. The group spray painted "Mehdi Arsalon" in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, in a large font, which was visible from Tajikistan's autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region. Tajikistani Taliban members and supporters, all of which are Tajik citizens, walked demonstratively along the Afghan side of the Panj River that separates Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It was reported that they came almost every day to their watch tower and yell threats with a loudspeaker insulting the Tajikistani authorities. Tensions were already high with the Afghan Taliban and Tajikistan due to Tajikistan supporting the

Zabiullah Mujahid said in a speech that no threats will be made from Afghanistan to any neighboring countries, and that it was a case of a warlord abusing his power, and he called on Tajik government to cooperate with them to tackle the issue.^[5]

In 2021 and 2022 there were no significant activities of the group but however in 2023 there was a rise of Jamaat Ansarullah propaganda and activities. On 6 September 2023, at least three Jamaat Ansarullah members were killed by Tajikistani authorities. The three men were recruited and trained in Afghanistan.