The Islamic Jihad Union—also known as al-Djihad al-Islami, Dzhamaat Modzhakhedov, and the Islamic Jihad Group of Uzbekistan, among other names—is an extremist organization that splintered from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in the early 2000s. It adheres to an anti-Western ideology, opposes secular rule in Uzbekistan, and seeks to replace the current regime with a government based on Islamic law.

The group first conducted attacks in April 2004, targeting a popular bazaar and police at several roadway checkpoints. These attacks killed approximately 47 people, including 33 terrorists, some of whom were suicide bombers, and marked the first use of suicide bombers in Central Asia. The IJU’s claim of responsibility, which was posted to multiple militant Islamic Web sites, denounced the leadership of Uzbekistan.

In July 2004 the group struck again, with near-simultaneous suicide bombings of the US and Israeli Embassies and the Uzbekistani Prosecutor General’s office in Tashkent. The IJU again claimed responsibility via an Islamic Web site and stated that martyrdom operations by the group would continue. The statement also indicated that the attacks were committed in support of IJU’s Palestinian, Iraqi, and Afghan brothers in the global insurgency. The date of the July attack corresponded with the trial of individuals arrested for their alleged participation in the April 2004 attacks.

In September 2007, German authorities detained three IJU operatives, disrupting an IJU plot against unidentified US or Western facilities in Germany. The operatives had acquired about 700 kg of hydrogen peroxide and an explosives precursor, which was enough raw material to make the equivalent of approximately 1,200 lbs of TNT. The IJU subsequently claimed responsibility for the foiled plot. The three operatives, along with a fourth man detained several months later in Turkey, were put on trial in Germany in 2009. All four were convicted and given jail terms of up to 12 years.

Turkish authorities in April 2009 seized weapons and detained extremists with ties to the group. The IJU claimed responsibility for the May 2009 attacks in the Andijon region of Uzbekistan that killed one policeman. IJU members are scattered throughout Central Asia and parts of South Asia, including Afghanistan, where the group has claimed responsibility for attacks against
Coalition forces.