2004 Tashkent Suicide Bombings

A series of attacks in Tashkent and Bukhara in March 2004 included the first suicide bombings in Uzbekistan’s history and killed approximately 40 people.[4] Security forces subsequently raided locations and detained dozens of Muslim activists on suspicion of links to terrorist organizations associated with al-Qaeda.[4] Another official account put the March–April death toll at approximately 47, including 33 terrorists, and described those attacks as the first use of female suicide bombers in Central Asia.[1] The July 30 bombings occurred while a trial of 15 suspects from the earlier attacks was underway.[2][3]

The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) split from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in 2002 under Najmiddin Jalolov.[5] Jalolov’s organization claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Tashkent in both March and July 2004.[5] The proposed explanation that an ideological disagreement with IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev caused the split remains speculative.[5] Accounts of the July attacks also identify the organization as the Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), while another account uses Jihad Islamic Group (JIG) and the name “Jamoat.”[2][3]

The attacks fit a broader shift in which jihadist organizations previously focused on domestic enemies began directing operational capacity toward Western targets.[6] Personal relationships between local leaders and al-Qaeda figures were identified as an important influence on whether such organizations adopted Western targets, and the July 2004 Tashkent embassy bombings were listed among operations against Western interests.[6]

The IJU was described as anti-Western, opposed to secular rule in Uzbekistan, and committed to replacing the existing government with one based on Islamic law.[7] After its early attacks in Uzbekistan, it became internationally prominent through an alleged 2007 bombing plot in Germany and operations in Afghanistan.[5]

Near-simultaneous suicide bombings struck three sites on July 30: the Israeli Embassy, the U.S. Embassy, and Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor General’s office.[2] The explosion near the Israeli Embassy occurred at approximately 18:00 local time, when the embassy was closed, and was carried out by an attacker wearing an explosive belt.[4] No Israeli personnel were injured.[4]

The fatalities included two Uzbek police officers at the U.S. Embassy, an Uzbek National Security Service officer, and an Uzbek guard at the Israeli Embassy.[2] Three suicide operatives also died, and several people were injured.[2] A contemporaneous account identified two Uzbek citizens killed near the Israeli Embassy as a local guard employed by the Israeli ambassador and a police officer; it also reported that a police officer wounded while guarding the U.S. Embassy subsequently died.[4] U.S. and Israeli diplomatic personnel were safe.[8]

The IJG claimed responsibility through a statement posted on an Islamic website.[2] Its statement declared that the group’s “martyrdom operations” would continue and described the attacks as support for its “Palestinian, Iraqi, and Afghan brothers in the global jihad.”[2] Under the IJU name, the group was later described as responsible for simultaneous suicide bombings at the three sites, with its claim framed as support for Palestinian, Iraqi, and Afghan fighters.[7]

Uzbekistan’s interior minister, Zokir Almatov, announced that several people had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the bombings.[4] An Israeli Foreign Ministry delegation of approximately ten people, including security and intelligence personnel, traveled to Tashkent to assess damage to the embassy and review its protection and security needs.[4] Officials in Jerusalem also considered whether to reinforce security.[4]

Rabbi David Gurevich, chief rabbi of Central Asia, spoke with Israeli embassy personnel after the explosions and invited them to the central Tashkent synagogue for Birkat Hagomel.[4] He expressed the Jewish community’s hope that security would be increased and estimated the community at approximately 35,000 people.[4]

Kazakhstani authorities detained more than a dozen alleged leaders and accomplices of the Central Asia Mujahedeen Jamaat, also identified as the Islamic Jihad Group, over alleged links to the Tashkent bombings.[9] Those detained included four women allegedly preparing to become suicide bombers.[9] In February 2005, a Tashkent criminal court convicted six defendants on terrorism charges connected to the March–April attacks and the July suicide bombings, imposing prison terms of between seven and 16 years.[10]

The attacks have been examined as an example of Uzbek jihadist organizations expanding their targets to include Western interests rather than concentrating exclusively on domestic opponents.[6] The simultaneous targeting of Israeli and American diplomatic missions appears in accounts of the IJU’s emergence from the IMU and its wider international orientation.[5][6] The group’s own statement connected the bombings to causes in the Palestinian territories, Iraq, and Afghanistan.[2]

The Israeli Embassy bombing is included in historical compilations of terrorist attacks against Israeli diplomatic representatives abroad.[11] An account of antisemitism in Uzbekistan also cites the 2004 explosions outside the Israeli and U.S. embassies as an example of the activities of radical Islamic groups.[12]

In 2005, the Islamic Jihad Group was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 and described as a breakaway from the IMU.[1] The designation was amended in 2008 to add Islamic Jihad Union as an alternate name.[7] This designation history helps explain why accounts use IJG and IJU for the same organization.

Official and secondary accounts differ on casualty totals. A detailed report gives four Uzbekistani security personnel and three suicide operatives killed.[2] A separate designation statement says at least two people were killed and nine wounded.[1] Another account reports three Uzbek guards killed and about a dozen people injured.[8] A historical compilation says the Israeli ambassador’s bodyguard and four local policemen were killed.[11] Contemporaneous reporting also gave conflicting counts of either seven or five people injured at the Prosecutor General’s office, plus two injured at the U.S. Embassy, one of whom later died.[4]

Responsibility claims also vary. Some official accounts identify the IJG as the claimant.[2] Another account records claims by both the IMU and IJG.[8] Contemporaneous reporting described separate online statements attributed to the IMU and Hizb ut-Tahrir and did not establish which claim, if either, was accurate.[4]

Defense lawyers and trial observers questioned whether prosecutors had proved the six convicted defendants’ connection to the attacks.[10] One defendant testified that he had been repeatedly beaten in custody.[10] Other trials relied almost entirely on confessions and often failed to establish a connection between the defendants and the bombings.[10]