A Tajik national wanted in Tajikistan on suspicion of “involvement in terrorist acts” and “participation in foreign wars” has reportedly been given a high-ranking position in the new Syrian army.

Sayfiddin Tajibayev, 41, is known as the commander of the military wing of the Jamaat Tawhid va Jihad (Abu Ubayda ibn Jarrah), which fought alongside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the offensive endorsed by Turkey that toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Tajik bloggers close to HTS on January 3 posted on their social media pages that Tajibayev had become the newly-appointed commander of Qaid Amaliyat fil-Livo, or head of the Operational Headquarters in the emerging new Syrian government's Ministry of Defence.

Said by Tajik media to be from Spitamen district of Tajikistan’s northwestern Sughd province, Tajibayev is, according to some regional press reports, one of six foreign fighters given one of 50 new positions in the Syrian Defence Ministry reshaped by the HTS administration in Damascus.

Most of the fighters in Jamaat Tawhid va Jihad are from Central Asian countries, according to Radio Ozodi.

Turkey’s role in working with HTS for the downfall of Assad, despite its reliance on foreign jihadists, is controversial. bne IntelliNews has long referred to “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s jihadists in Syria” and it is doubtful that the HTS-led offensive that drove Assad to flee Syria for Moscow could have occurred without a go-ahead from Ankara. Turkey is now working closely with HTS on creating a post-war Syria. With an eye on Kurdish groups that control swathes of Syria in the northeast, it has threatened to send in troops to prevent any potential partition of Syria.

A Tajik law enforcement agency source on January 5 told Radio Ozodi: "Since 2013, Tajibayev and his brother have been fighting in Syria alongside terrorist groups. He has recruited several citizens to join terrorist groups. There is a case against him and he is being sought [by Tajikistan]."

The website of the National Bank of Tajikistan names Tajibayev on a list of individuals accused of terrorism and prohibits financial transactions with the named persons.

Bloggers close to HTS wrote that Tajibayev’s rank was major and that he has now been promoted to colonel.

Tajik state media have frequently criticised Tajibayev for recruiting citizens of Tajikistan to fight in wars abroad.

Before departing for Syria, Tajibayev was a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), a parliamentary party designated a terrorist organisation by Tajikistan’s Rahmon regime in 2015 and banned. Dozens of IRPT activists have been imprisoned, while numerous members remain on the run. IRPT members in exile have described the move to ban the party and list it as “terrorist” as baseless and slanderous. Tajibayev’s name has been used by Tajik authorities in information attacks against the IRPT.

It is unknown whether under the new Damascus regime, Tajibayev has obtained Syrian citizenship.

Tajik officials have said more than 2,000 Tajiks travelled to Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2017. Most joined the ranks of Islamic State (ISIS), but following the fall of the group’s self-declared caliphate, some sought out and joined rival jihadist groups.