– HASAN MAHSUM

* Hasan Mahsum, also known as Abu-Muhammad al-Turkestani and Ashan Sumut, was born in the 60s’  in Shule (Kunixar) County on the Western edge of Xinjiang Province in China. From the late 80s’, when he was about 20 years old, Hasan  Mahsum became involved with the Turkistan (Xinjiang) independence movement.

Soon Hasan  Mahsum became a lecturer at a training camp in Yecheng County, preaching the use of violence against Chinese authorities in order to liberate Turkistan. Due to his activity Hasan  Mahsum was arrested by the Chinese police in 10/1993. He was sentenced for three years of re-education through labor and released in 1997.

After his released Hasan  Mahsum fled to Afghanistan and was granted an Afghan passport provided by the Taliban authorities. According to intelligence sources Hasan  Mahsum met with Osama Bin Laden in 1999 and was offered a support of $300,000 for forming an Islamic resistance in Xinjiang. Hasan  Mahsum himself repeatedly denied those allegations.

Nevertheless, from mid 1999, Hasan  Mahsum orchestrated and led cross border raids from Afghanistan to Xinjiang province in China on Chinese facilities and  took responsibility on the attacks under the name of the East Turkistan Islamic Party [ETIP].

On 10/02/2003 Hasan  Mahsum was killed, along other 8 Islamic militants, by a Pakistani army raid on an Al Qaeda hideout in South Waziristan. 

 

 

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