“The US removed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from its list of terrorist organizations on October 20th, a move that was made public on Thursday. The ETIM is a Uyghur Muslim group that was designated as a terrorist organization due to its suspected links to al-Qaeda in 2002.”
“On Friday, China criticized the US for its decision to remove ETIM from the terror list. Beijing says the group was behind a series of terror attacks in Xinjiang and in other parts of China, including a 2013 attack on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) took credit for the 2013 Tiananmen Square attack, which is believed to be the same group as the ETIM.”
“A State Department official told Radio Free Asia that the group was removed from the terror list because, “for more than a decade, there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues to exist.””
“Notably, in February 2018, the US launched airstrikes in Afghanistan’s remote Badakhshan, which is close to the border of Tajikistan and Xinjiang. Military officials said they targeted members of the Taliban and the ETIM.”
“The Washington Post reported on the US airstrike on the ETIM in 2018.”
Read more: US Removes Uyghur Muslim Group From Terror List
2021-week24
