Gulmurod Khalimov

Gulmurod Salimovich Khalimov (Tajik: Гулмурод Салимович Ҳалимов) is a Tajik and Islamist military commander. A Lieutenant-Colonel, he was commander of the police special forces of the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan until 2015. He has since defected to join the Islamic State. In September 2016 he was declared minister of war of IS.

He was born 14 May 1975 in Varzob, Tajikistan, then part of the Soviet Union.

US training

From 2003 to 2014, Khalimov participated in five counterterrorism training courses in the United States and in Tajikistan, through the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Security/Anti-Terrorism Assistance program.

He disappeared in late April 2015, and surfaced May 28, 2015 in an Islamic State video.

Tajik reaction

Tajik Prosecutor-General Manuchehr Makhmudzod announced on May 29, 2015 that a probe had been opened into Khalimov's activities. The Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 3 that Colonel Gulmuro Khalimov is wanted for crimes including high treason and illegal participation in military actions abroad. "Acting for mercenary means, he joined the international terrorist organization calling itself Islamic State," the statement said.

US and UN sanctions

On September 29, 2015 he was made subject to sanctions by the United States Department of State. He was also made subject to sanctions by the United Nations Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee on 29 February 2016.

In August 2016, the United States Department of State issued a $3 million USD bounty on Khalimov under its Rewards for Justice program.