Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm
A key operative of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K or ISIL-K) — has been surreptitiously maneuvering in and out of Turkey under multiple identities, including those of a refugee and a foreign businessman, as revealed by confidential information obtained by Nordic Monitor.
Ismatullah Khalozai, designated as an international facilitator for ISIS-K by the US Treasury on November 22, 2021 has been utilizing Turkey as a pivotal logistical hub for the movement of funds and fighters.
Despite being known to Turkish authorities for his clandestine activities on behalf of the terrorist group, Khalozai was not subject to an asset freeze by the Islamist government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan until March 23, 2022 — four months after the US designation had made his name public and only following a request from the US government.
However, Erdogan’s presidential decree ordering an asset freeze for Khalozai omitted crucial identifying details, including the unique national identity number issued by the Migration Management Authority (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı), which is part of the Interior Ministry. The national identification number applies to both Turkish nationals and foreign residents in Turkey.
Although the decree listed several aliases used by Khalozai — including Esmatullah Khalouzai, Esmatullah Khalozai, Abdul Ahad, Ukasha Jarrar, Mohammad Qasim Haqzad and Sher Omar Khel — none of these names were accompanied by a national identity number. This omission is significant since such a number is essential for effectively tracking individuals for government-related functions, including taxation, health benefits and sanctions.
Two presidential decrees have listed Khalozai as being under an asset freeze in Turkey;
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By omitting this crucial detail, the decree substantially impeded Turkish government agencies and financial institutions, such as banks, in their efforts to trace Khalozai and enforce the asset freeze. In Turkey, where nearly all banking and government-related transactions necessitate this unique identification number, the omission allowed Khalozai to largely continue his activities uninterrupted.
Following mounting pressure on Turkey, President Erdogan issued a second decree on December 9, 2022 —nine months after the initial decision — adding a single identification number, 99401582772, to the description. This ID number was assigned to Khalozai under what appeared to be his assumed name, Mohammad Qasim Haqzad.
Information obtained by Nordic Monitor reveals that Haqzad registered himself as an Afghan national, declared his birth date as November 13, 1977 and listed his parents’ names as Nazuk and Khudaiibiran. No information was provided regarding his place of residence in Turkey, which is rather unusual.
The presidential decree stated that this was the only identification number authorities could link to him.
However, this statement appears to be inaccurate. Information shared with Nordic Monitor suggests that Khalozai was officially registered as a refugee in at least three separate Turkish provinces under various aliases and received a national identity number for each application approved.
How he managed to register multiple times despite the fingerprinting and biometric checks conducted by the migration agency remains a mystery. It was either the result of significant influence from a powerful ally or bribery — a plausible scenario given the pervasive corruption within the Interior Ministry and its subordinate agencies, including the police, gendarmerie and migration authority.
Under the assumed name of Shir Amar Khel, Khalozai registered with the migration agency’s local branch in Turkey’s conservative Karaman province as a refugee, receiving a national identity number ending in 4550. He listed Kunduz province in Afghanistan as his place of birth, identified his parents as Shirin Guln and Nour Mohammad and provided his birth date as January 1, 1993. He declared his residence as an apartment building at 2, 160th Street, in the center of Karaman city.
In the neighboring province of Konya, Khalozai registered again under the alias Abdul Ahad Haleme, receiving a national identity number ending in 9088. This time, he listed his birth date as January 1, 1983, and identified his parents as Sahebcemal and El Murad. His declared residence was an apartment on İrşah Street in the Ulubatlı Hasan neighborhood of Konya’s Karatay district.
Both Konya and Karaman provinces are strongholds for Turkish President Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Radicals and jihadists often find it easier to blend into these areas due to the local population’s sympathies for such extremists.
In another instance, Khalozai registered in Istanbul using the name Azmatullah Khalozai, very similar to the name in the Treasury designation. Strangely, this name was not included in the sanctions listed in the presidential asset freeze decree issued by Erdogan. He was assigned a national identity number ending in 7668. For this registration, he provided his birth date as June 1, 1993 and listed his address as a luxury apartment complex, Delta Deluxe Sitesi, in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.
It is quite possible that he may have additional aliases, residencies and identity numbers, allowing him to continue his activities on behalf of ISIS-K.
According to the US Treasury, he not only operated a hawala business to transfer funds for ISIS-K operations in Turkey but also in the United Arab Emirates for a period. Moreover he was involved in human smuggling, including personally transporting an ISIS-K courier from Afghanistan to Turkey on one occasion.
The latest monitoring report issued in June by the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team regarding ISIS and al-Qaeda described Khalozai as overseeing ISIS-K’s finances in Europe, particularly related to migrant smuggling. The report also stated that European states consider ISIS-K to be the greatest external terrorist threat to Europe. Turkey, so far, remains a key logistical hub for ISIS-K operations.
