in Krgyzstan and Turkey. It has also repeatedly called on Pakistan to eliminate the group’s presence there. Kyrgyz officials last year identified a suicide bomber, who attacked the Chinese embassy in Bishkek in August, as an Uighur militant.

Isis is not the only international jihadi group interested in the Uighurs. Most Uighur fighters in Syria joined a faction effectively embedded within Jabah al Fateh al Sham (JFS), al-Qaida’s principal proxy in the region and a bitter rival of Isis. Although exact numbers are impossible to confirm, analysts believe there are hundreds Uighurs fighting with JFS. They have reportedly been deployed in battles against government forces in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, at times as suicide attackers.

Reports in Turkish media of the recent movements of the New Year’s Eve gunman underlinethe international nature of the jihadi threat. They describe how Abu Muhammed al Khorasani had combat training in Syria, then returned to central Asia, and finally flew with his family from Kyrgyzstan to Istanbul on 20 November. His victims included citizens of 14 countries.