Gulmurod Khalimov

Gulmurod Salimovich Khalimov was a Tajik and Islamist military commander. A lieutenant-colonel when commander of the police special forces of the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan until 2015, he then defected to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In September 2016, he was reported to have been appointed as the minister of war of ISIL in place of Abu Omar al-Shishani; his appointment had not been announced by ISIL for fears that he might be targeted in airstrikes by the anti-ISIL coalition. On 8 September 2017, Khalimov was allegedly killed during a Russian airstrike in Deir ez-Zor. However, recent reports, indicate that he is in Idlib and has lost his position as the IS "minister of war. The U.S. has not confirmed Khamilov's death and he remains the subject of a $3,000,000 bounty by the Rewards for Justice Program.