The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU, ) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley. Its original objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and to create an Islamic state under Sharia; however, in subsequent years, it reinvented itself as an ally of Al-Qaeda. The group also maintained relations with Afghan Taliban in 1990s. However, later on, relations between both the Afghan Talibans and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan started declining. In mid-2015 its leadership publicly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and announced that the IMU was part of the group's regional branch. In 2016, it was reported that a new faction of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan emerged after the group became part of Islamic State (IS). The new faction retained the group's name and was independent of Islamic State (IS). It has also indicated that it is loyal to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and shared their views against the Islamic State (IS).