Threat from the Soldiers of Khalifat deemed real in Kazakhstan

A threat from the Soldiers of Khalifat is real in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports citing deputy head of Kazakhstan National Security Commission Kabdulkarim Abdikazimov. “Based on the fact that there is a certain number of our citizens there (in the Soldiers of Khalifat), we believe that the threat is real,” he said answering senators’ questions. He also noted that the National Security Commission took measures to minimize the threat and prevent expansion of the organization. “We do this in a tactical manner,” Andikarimov added. Tengrinews.kz English reported in October that the leader of the terrorist group Soldiers of Khalifat Moezeddine Garsallaoui was killed during a raid in North Waziristan province of Pakistan. According to SITE Intelligence Group, he trained Kazakhstan militants to later send them to Kazakhstan to organize terrorist attacks. Earlier political expert and secretary of Nur Otan party Yerlan Karin expressed his opinion that Soldiers of Khalifat are based not in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but in the North Caucasus. The Soldiers of Khalifat took responsibility for several terrorist attacks in Kazakhstan . According to Kazakhstan General Prosecutor’s office, this organization was created in summer 2011 by Kazakhstan-born Rinat Khabidolla, Orynbassar Munatov and Damir Znaliyev to take jihad to the territory of Kazakhstan. Right after the attack in Atyrau, a statement of The Jund al Khilafah (Soldiers of Khalifat) appeared on the Internet, where they claim responsibility for the blasts. Back than Kazakhstan special forces stated that the group was created by Kazakhstan citizens fighting together with Afghan militants and hiding in Afghan-Pakistan near-border area. On December 3, 2011 a terrorist group of five people was eliminated during a \special operation in Boraldai village of Almaty oblast. The operation claimed lives of two officers of Atyrstan division of the National Security Commission. Right after that The Long War Journal published a translation of the statement of the Soldiers of Khalifat saying that the terrorists eliminated in Boraldai village were the fighters of the Soldiers of Khalifat. By Renat Tashkinbayev