The Jihadi Private Military Company – Malhama Tactical
Group Profile
Malhama Tactical (MT) is a Syria-based private military company providing battlefield consulting and direct operational support to terrorist organizations such as the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkistan Islamic Party. Although MT's prominence declined after late 2021, the organization returned to the headlines when a woman in New York, Victoria Jacobs, was found guilty of providing MT with $5,000 and laundering thousands more for the group this year. In addition to leveraging proxies like Jacobs, MT exploits charities to raise funds and uses cryptocurrency to pay workers. MT’s activities and distinct financial profile are examined more in-depth below.
Origins and Operations
MT was founded in May 2016 by a Uzbek jihadist known as Abu Rofiq. It quickly received regional attention for providing specialized training and military consultancy services to armed groups in Syria. The group’s approximately dozen members originated mainly from Russia's Muslim-majority federal republics, and worked closely with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham against the Islamic State. By March 2017, MT’s visibility and perceived military strength had increased. In addition to training militants, group members also provided terrorist organizations with security and operational support. Its membership also diversified to include militants from Arab countries, Turkey, the Maldives, and China. Despite setbacks for rebel forces in Syria, such as the loss of Aleppo, the demand for MT’s services remained strong, according to Abu Rofiq’s interview with Foreign Policy. The group expanded to an estimated 50 trainers, and by February 2020, MT reported that it provided training to over 5,000 fighters. Although the group is technically still active, there is limited information about its recent activities.
