US Admits Top ISIS Leader Was Trained by State Department

June 5th, 2015 - by admin

Press TV & Adam Weinstein / Gawker.com – 2015-06-05 01:53:16

http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=18&frid=18&eid=213134

The Commanders of the Tajik Rebellion. Gulmurod Halim in Syria.
(May 27, 2015) — CATV NEWS & Tajikistan News

US State Department Sponsored
Training of ISIL Militant: Report
Press TV

(May 31, 2015) — The US State Department has confirmed that an ISIL militant who calls for terrorist attacks against the United States in a new online video was trained on American soil by Blackwater.

Officials told CNN on Saturday that Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov, a former head of Tajikistan’s special forces, took part in counterterrorism courses as part of a program sponsored by the State Department.

Blackwater Worldwide, which is now known as Academi and is based in McLean, Virginia, is the most notorious private security firm that had operated in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In his online video, Khalimov appears in black ISIL clothing with a sniper rifle and a bandolier of ammunition, claiming that he attended programs on American soil three times.

State Department spokeswoman Pooja Jhunjhunwala confirmed his claims. “From 2003-2014 Colonel Khalimov participated in five counterterrorism training courses in the United States and in Tajikistan, through the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security/Anti-Terrorism Assistance program,” said Jhunjhunwala.

The militant was trained in crisis response, tactical management of special events, tactical leadership training and other related issues, according to a State Department official.

Khalimov says in the video that what he witnessed during his training in the US turned him against Washington.

“Listen, you American pigs: I’ve been to America three times. I saw how you train soldiers to kill Muslims,” he says in Russian. “You taught your soldiers how to surround and attack, in order to exterminate Islam and Muslims.”

The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Meet the Elite US-Trained Special Forces Chief Who Just Joined ISIS
Adam Weinstein / Fortress America @ Gawker.com

(May 28, 2015) — In addition to an aggressive goatee, Gulmurod Khalimov has a certain set of skills. He commands Tajikistan’s special forces, trained and funded by American military whizzes. Or he did, before recently turning up in a YouTube video saying he’s gone to Syria to fight with the Islamic State.

Reuters reports:
Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov commanded the Central Asian nation’s special-purpose police known as OMON, used against criminals and militants. He disappeared in late April, prompting a search by Tajik police.

He reappeared Wednesday, vowing to bring jihad to Russia and the United States as he brandished a cartridge belt and sniper rifle, in a professionally made, 10-minute video clip posted in social networks.

An excerpt of that video, in Russian, is below:

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[Note: The video has been removed and replaced by the following statement:
“This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube’s Terms of Service.” — EAW]

“The video, allegedly made in Syria, says that Khalimov joined the jihadists in protest against government policies that do not allow namaz (canonical prayer) or the wearing of Islamic dress,” the video’s Russian source states.

The Washington Post‘s Ishaan Tharoor compiled some of Khalimov’s fun video soundbites:
“Listen, you dogs, the president and ministers,” Khalimov says in the video, “if only you knew how many boys, our brothers are here, waiting and yearning to return to reestablish sharia law there.” . . .
“Listen, you American pigs, I’ve been three times to America, and I saw how you train fighters to kill Muslims,” he said. “God willing, I will come with this weapon to your cities, your homes, and we will kill you.”

That’s gratitude for you, considering that the OMON, Khalimov’s SWAT-style special forces unit in Tajikistan, received millions of dollars annually from “Defense Department counterterrorism and counterdrug programs” for training and equipment, including “bullet-proof vests, special helmets, masks, binoculars,” and weapons.

The US ambassador to Tajikistan in 2013 proudly boasted “that Tajik OMON officers took training in the United States last year and showed high professionalism.”

One US State Department cable in the Wikileaks trove, flagged by Eurasia expert Joshua Kucera, notes that Khalimov’s group was even allowed to run a security drill in 2009 at the US embassy in Tajikistan:
“The MVD’s elite Militia Detachment for Special Purposes (OMON) drill at the Embassy demonstrated an improved anti-terrorist response and confirmed OMON’s capacity after a change in leadership,” the cable reported.

Whether Khalimov personally benefitted from any of that training is unclear. But we’ll probably find out soon.

Contact the author at adam@gawker.com.