DAMASCUS -- An influential militant and former mufti of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is denouncing the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), Long War Journal reported August 30.
Abu Dher al-Barmi, the ex-IMU mufti, apologised for joining ISIL's Khorasan Province, the terrorist group's Pakistani and Afghan operation, in an Uzbek-language recording recently posted on YouTube.
ISIL, which Al-Barmi said he joined in 2014, committed "many evil deeds" like "killing Muslims without evidence", he said on the recording.
He urged Central Asian militants to ignore his previous pro-ISIL statements and to reject ISIL.
Al-Barmi's present allegiances and whereabouts are unclear.
