Tajikistan links attack to banned Islamist opposition group, Iran

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: Police in Tajikistan yesterday linked an attack claimed by the Islamic State group that killed four tourists including two Americans to a banned Islamist opposition group and Iran.

The victims — two Americans and a Swiss and Dutch citizen — were struck by a car and attacked on Sunday on a popular cycling route in the impoverished Central Asian country.

Two citizens of Switzerland and the Netherlands were also injured in the attack in the Danghara district, about 100 kilometres from the capital Dushanbe. A French citizen survived unscathed.

In a statement on Monday, the Islamic State group claimed a ‘detachment from the soldiers of the Caliphate’ had carried out the attack against “citizens of Crusader coalition countries.”

A Tajik police statement yesterday ignored the IS claim and said the chief detained suspect was a member of a banned Islamist opposition party and had undergone ‘ military sabotage’ training in Iran.

The suspected attack leader, Hussein Abdusamadov, 33, was an ‘active member’ of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, which was banned by the government in 2015, police said.

Police said the suspect also testified that he had travelled four times to Iran, a country with which Tajikistan has poor relations, “where he received an ideological education and underwent military sabotage training.”

The statement made no explicit reference to terrorism but said “the crime was committed with the goal of making an attempt on state and public security (and) destabilising public order.” — AFP