Tajikistan authorities silent on prison riot

Aprison riot in Tajikistan that left at least 26 people dead was initiated by a “former member of the Islamic State group”, a security source told AFP yesterday.

The militant group earlier claimed via its official Amaq propaganda agency that an IS fighter began the riot at the jail in the northern city of Khujand.

The security source did not offer any further details on the prisoner but said “the intention was to begin a jailbreak”.

He said that 26 prisoners, a guard and one soldier were killed but no inmates managed to escape.

Other sources told AFP a total of 26 people had been killed including guards.

Special forces personnel were called in to help restore order at the prison in Tajikistan’s second-largest city after the riot broke out there on Wednesday, three security sources said.

Tajik officials have not publicly acknowledged the riot, which according to sources began when prisoners seized sharp objects from a workshop.

Tajik authorities are conducting an investigation into the violence, the three sources said.

The facility in Khujand, 300km north of capital Dushanbe, houses up to 1,000 prisoners serving long sentences for serious crimes.

These include murder and crimes related to extremism, such as membership of the Islamic State group (IS).

A Khujand resident who requested anonymity told AFP she had heard “automatic rifle fire from the prison” on Wednesday night.

The high-security facility is located in a “densely populated residential quarter of Khujand”, she told AFP by telephone.

“After these types of events, the authorities should move the prison further away from the residential areas of the city,” she said.

The prison has seen violence and jailbreaks in the past.