Imam Bukhari Jamaat
In November 2014, the group officially pledged its allegiance to Mullah Omar of the Taliban. According to this RFE/RL report, Imam Bukhari's leader, one Sheikh Salahuddin, met with several Taliban leaders before coming to Syria (including leaders of the Haqqani Network.)
The group recently took part in the Jisr al Shughur offensive as part of the "Battle of Victory" coalition. It has posted a video to its YouTube page (now suspended) showing its forces celebrating after helping to defeat the Assad regime and take the city.
The group is also known to operate at least three training camps inside Syria. Two of these are in Aleppo province, its main base of operations, while one appears to be in either Idlib or Latakia province.
Video of one of its training camps in Aleppo:
Pictures of fighters from the group:
One of its killed fighters, Mohammad Toshqandiy:
Imam Bukhari Jamaat in Jisr al Shughur:
It recently took part in the Jisr al Shughur offensive as part of the "Battle of Victory" coalition. It fought alongside Al Nusrah, Junud al Sham, and the Turkistan Islamic Party. The group is also fighting alongside Al Nusrah in the fight for Musibeen in Idlib.
In this video from Musibeen, KTJ fighters are clearly seen alongside fighters from Al Nusrah:
Pictures of Abu Saloh:
Abu Saloh while still with Nusrah:
KTJ also operates a training camp, which is likely in Aleppo province. In a video released by the group, recruits are shown learning how to operate technicals, learning how to conduct kidnapping operations, as well as undergoing basic weapons training.
Screenshots from the video:
The group is likely separate from the Seyfuddin Uzbek Jamaat, which is an Uzbek jamaat within Al Nusrah led by a jihadist named Abu Hussein. According to The Long War Journal, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has recruited for the Seyfuddin Uzbek Jamaat in the past. It is unsure if the IMU did the same for the jamaat that became KTJ.
Turkistan Islamic Party
The group has long operated alongside al Qaeda in Idlib province. In May of last year, one of its fighters, identified as Dadullah al Turkistani, detonated himself as part of a coordinated assault with Al Nusrah in the northwestern province. That same operation included a suicide attack by an American Nusrah fighter known as Abu Hurayra al Amriiki. It has also publicized other suicide bombings alongside Al Nusrah. Several other TIP fighters who have been killed in Syria have been promoted by the group’s Twitter feed.
Two suicide bombers from the TIP:
Dadullah al Turkistani:
The TIP is known to operate at least two training camps inside Syria. One training camp, which appears to be in a captured village in Idlib, is for children. The other camp is more traditional, albeit rudimentary compared to other camps seen in Syria.
Photos from these camps:
Children's camp:
Traditional camp:
The TIP also took part in the recent Jisr al Shughur offensive as part of the "Battle of Victory" coalition. Unlike the prior two groups, the TIP took on a large role in the fight. According to some jihadist accounts, they stormed and captured two checkpoints on their own. In one tweet by the TIP, they confirmed that they lost 20 fighters in the offensive.
TIP video from Jisr al Shughur:
- Caleb