Tag Archives: Islamic extremism

Tajikistan confirms death of former police relatives

JULY 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Tajikistan said that police had fought and killed four relatives of former Tajik police commander Gulmurod Halimov who joined IS in Syria in 2015. They said that the four relatives, two of Halimov’s brothers and two cousins, were involved in a gunfight with police on July 4 in the Vosa district, 25km from Dushanbe. Reports do not clarify what triggered the gunfire.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

US embassy warns Tajikistan

Leave a Reply

JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — The US Embassy in Dushanbe said that the chances of a terrorist attack in Tajikistan had increased over the past six to 12 months. It said: “A range of terrorist organizations might seek to conduct attacks in the territory of Tajikistan, including against U.S. interests and the US Embassy.” The US embassy has previously issued terrorist attack warn- ings for Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Kazakhstan strips IS fighters of citizenship

Leave a Reply

JUNE 22 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s upper house of parliament approved a bill that will strip people accused of fighting for the extremist IS group in Syria and Iraq of their citizenship. The Kazakh authorities are increasingly worried about returnees from Syria and Iraq spreading radical ideology and fighting techniques if, and when, they move back to Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Turkmenistan increases security after threat

Leave a Reply

JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has boosted its security over the past few days because it has received information that a terrorist attack against it is being planned, the local news service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. RFE/RL quoted a security official as saying that the information came from four men linked to the radical IS group who were extradited back to Turkmenistan from Turkey.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Kazakhstan sets up prison units to tackle extremism

Leave a Reply

JUNE 13 2017 (The Bulletin) — Appearing to acknowledge that prisons had become a breeding ground for radical Islam, Kazakh officials said that they were going to set up a unit that would specifically look to counter the radicalisation of inmates. Commentators have previously criticised the Kazakh prison service for the poor conditions of its facilities and the ease that radical Islamic recruiters are able to turn previously moderate Muslims into extremists.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

25th Georgian dies in Syria fighting for IS

Leave a Reply

JUNE 6 2017 (The Bulletin) — Media in Georgia reported that another man from the Pankisi Gorge had died fighting for the extremist IS group in Syria. He was said to be the 25th Georgian national to die fighting for IS. The Pankisi Gorge is a slither of land that borders the Caucasus Mountains. It is predominantly Muslim and was used by Chechen rebel fighters battling Russian troops at the turn of the century as a safe refuge area.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Abkhazia says arrests five Tajiks with IS link

Leave a Reply

TBILISI, JUNE 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia said that they had arrested five Tajik men for having links to the extremist IS group.

Men from Central Asia have come under increased scrutiny for links to the extremist IS group after a series of attacks this year blamed on the rise of extremist recruitment in the region.

In its four line message on the arrests, the Abkhazian authorities did not say where the men were arrested or why they were suspected of having links to IS. “After carrying out the necessary actions, the detainees were handed over to the Russian side to carry out operational-investigative actions,” it said.

What appears unusual in this case is the presence of five Tajiks in Abkhazia, not known for attracting migrant workers from Central Asia.

Russia is one of the few countries to recognise Abkhazia as an independent state.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Kyrgyzstan arrests suicide bomber

Leave a Reply

JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — The authorities in Kyrgyzstan said that they had arrested a man plotting a suicide attack in the country. In August 2016 a man drove a car bomb into the Chinese embassy in Bishkek. It was later blamed on Uighur separatists. No more details of the arrest or of the bomb attack plan were released.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Russia to reinforce military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Leave a Reply

JUNE 7 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia plan to reinforce its military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in response to the move north of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said during a visit to Kazakhstan for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Earlier this year, the Taliban moved to within a few miles of the Amu Darya river that acts as the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, its furthest north. Russia keeps one of its largest overseas military bases in Tajikistan. The Kyrgyzstan base, at Kant near Bishkek, is far smaller. It is mainly used as an air base.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)

Kabul bomb hurts Kazakhs

Leave a Reply

JUNE 1 2017 (The Bulletin) — Two unnamed Kazakh citizens were injured in a bomb in central Kabul that killed more than 90 people, media reported. Their injuries are not thought to be life- threatening. The bomb ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter damaging several embassies.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 331, published on June 5 2017)