Eurasianet reported on July 20 that Al-Azaim Tajiki has become one of the Islamic State (IS) terror group’s most vigorous evangelists targeting Central Asia.
It might have seemed like a setback for Islamic State in Afghanistan when Yusuf Tajiki, a prominent Tajik-speaking propagandist, was reportedly killed this month by the Taliban.
But fighting militants is a game of whack-a-mole and Yusuf Tajiki is already being eclipsed by a parallel outlet targeting the same audience: Al-Azaim Tajiki. Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP)’s magazine has recognized Al-Azaim as part of its central propaganda network, endorsing it in a tribute to Abu Muhammad al-Tajiki, the Tajikistan-born suicide bomber who attacked Kabul’s Sikh temple in June.
In line with its recent rocket assaults on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, ISKP has intensified its hostile rhetoric against post-Soviet Central Asia’s authoritarian leaders. With Al-Azaim on Telegram, the group has ramped up efforts to broaden appeal among speakers of Central Asian languages, promising new attacks weekly.
As a clue to ISKP’s northward intentions, the emergence of a designated Tajik-language media outlet showcases the terror group’s attempt to segment its audiences. Al-Azaim now spearheads ISKP outreach among Tajik speakers, while its operatives are closely linked to a large online pro-Islamic State network stretching from Afghanistan to Syria.
These supportive Tajik Telegram groups include Protectors of the Ummat, Devotion and Loyalty, and Islamic Book House, among others. Al-Azaim is also sometimes recommended, and invitation links are shared, by pro-ISKP channels in other languages, such as Pashto.
Al-Azaim’s discussion channels also share administrators with the Sadoi Shaykh Telegram channel. Both have identified one “Valid Umarov” – said to be a Tajikistan-born member of the Taliban that had infiltrated ISKP – as orchestrating Yusuf Tajiki’s death. Al-Azaim’s unique reporting on his death further affirms its knowledge of battleground developments in Afghanistan.
Al-Azaim has distinguished itself by rapidly building a network of Telegram channels that post Tajik translations of official Islamic State media claims. It hosts multiple discussion channels for Tajik-speaking ISKP supporters and publishes original content.
More recently, Al-Azaim has been sharing Islamic State history lessons with its followers and has been posting early IS videos translated into Tajik and Russian.
Though Al-Azaim is a shadowy network that takes security precautions seriously, there are a few regular figures that appear central to the campaign, perhaps most notably those identifying themselves as “Abu Maytuha” and “I’lam Tajiki.” (I’lam means “media” in Arabic.)
With the rise of ISKP in multiple provinces of Afghanistan, Al-Azaim and I’lam aim to turn more Tajik sympathizers into recruits.
