MOSCOW : Uzbek fighters from an Al-Qaeda-linked militant organisation have thrown their support behind the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group controlling swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. A top leader for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) announced its backing for IS. “Hereby, on behalf of all members of our movement, in line with our sacred duties, I declare that we are in the same ranks with the Islamic State in this continued war between Islam and (non-Muslims),” Usman Gazi wrote in an online statement on September 26.