US-trained commando becomes senior IS commander

The new commander of the IS military force was a US-trained commando. IS did not announce his appointment due to concerns about being hunted down by the US.

Former Tajikistan Special Forces Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov has become the top front commander of the Islamic terrorist group IS (Daesh) in Iraq after he defected in 2015 and vowed to wage jihad against the West. IS forces in Iraq have welcomed the new commander into their ranks.

Khalimov (middle). Photo: YouTube.

Khalimov was well known to US military and intelligence officials because he was trained by the US and rose through the ranks of the IS terrorist organization after defecting last year.

The US State Department responded to the news by offering a $3 million reward for his capture.

Former Tajik army sniper appears in propaganda videos calling for violence against US military personnel and civilians.

Khalimov is a concern to US officials. The US State Department in November 2015 designated him a special designation global terrorist.

The United Nations also placed Khalimov on their sanctions list in February 2016.

The commander of this Tajik special forces unit received on-the-ground training from American advisers. He even traveled to the United States several times to participate in counterterrorism training through the US State Department's counterterrorism assistance program.

IS has avoided officially announcing Khalimov's elevation to the group's top leadership position due to concerns that he would be a high-priority target for US air strikes.

However, Iraq's Al Sumaria news agency revealed the information based on sources in Nineveh province. The agency said: "There is inside informationISIt is believed that Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov was appointed commander-in-chief of IS after the previous leader Abu Omar al-Shishani was killed.

Shishani died in July during fighting in the Iraqi city of Shirqat. Washington initially claimed it had killed him in Iraq with a drone, but this was later confirmed to be false./.

According to VOV