Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, locally known as Radio Ozodi, today published new photos of Tajik fugitive police colonel Gulmurod Halimov, the highest profile recruit to the Islamic State (IS) terror group from Tajikistan.
Radio Ozodi, in particular, published a selfie of Gulmurod Halimov with his daughter from his second wife Humairo Mirova, who left for Syria along with the couple's four young children in early February last year.
Radio Ozodi does not mention the date and source of the photos.
Recall, Colonel Gulmurod Halimov was commander of the Tajik special police unit, known as OMON. He went missing in April 2015 and later appeared on the Internet, saying he had joined the IS group.
In early June 2015, Halimov was placed on the Interpol wanted list and Tajikistan charged him with treason and involvement in a criminal group along with other crimes.
Humairo Mirova left for Syria along with the couple's four young children in early February last year.
The relatives of Humairo Mirova confirmed on February 28 that she left Tajikistan in early February but insisted that they were unaware of her whereabouts. According to the family, Mirova told them she was going on vacation and asked them not to try to contact her until she calls them herself.
In August 2016, the U.S. State Department called Halimov a key member of the IS extremist group and offered a $3 million reward for information on his whereabouts.
Western media reports quoted Iraqi officials on April 14 this year as saying that Halimov was killed in an air strike in Mosul, Iraq. His death has not been confirmed by IS, the United States, or Tajikistan.
Several days later, Tajik officials arrested Halimov’s 18-year-old son, Behrouz Halimov, on charges of trying to join his father in Syria. Behrouz Halimov was reportedly arrested at the Dushanbe airport on April 17 while boarding the Dushanbe-Moscow flight.
The Dushanbe city court sentenced Behrouz Halimov to ten years in prison last month. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of preparation for crime or criminal attempt (Article 32 of Tajikistan’s Penal Court) and mercenary activities (Article 401 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code). Behrouz Halimov will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.
Four relatives of Gulmurod Halimov were killed during a fight with Tajik police that took place on July 4 in Vose district in Khatlon province. Two of Halimov’s brothers and two nephews were killed after resisting when police raided a house in Ibrat village. The operation’s leader, Colonel Anvar Huseynov, reportedly received several stab wounds. Security sources said that they suspect the men were preparing to cross into Afghanistan. The four men had not been formally charged with Islamic State membership but had been under surveillance in Dushanbe, suspected of involvement with the group Gulmurod defected from state service to join in 2015.
On July 4, Kyrgyz new agency Akipress repeated Russian media reports that another of Halimov’s nephews, F. Halimov, had been extradited to Tajikistan in late June. The allegation is that he was recruiting for IS and planning on going to Syria, via Turkey.
Meanwhile, Interpol has excluded Gulmurod Halimov from its wanted list.
