People who claim to be members of Islom Lashkari detained in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Five residents of Khujand, a major city in northern Tajikistan, have been detained on suspicion of committing a number of crimes.
They claim to be members of an extremist group known as Islom Lashkari (the Army of Islam), the Tajik State National Security Committee said in a press release on Thursday.
Khujand is Tajikistan's second largest city, located 310 kilometers north of the country's capital, Dushanbe, near the border with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
"The persons detained by officers of the State National Security Committee include the gang's leader and one of its members, who were wanted by the authorities of the United Arab Emirates, where they had lived for a certain period of time, on suspicion of committing a series of crimes," it said.
Investigators believe that upon their return to Tajikistan, the gang members extorted money from local entrepreneurs using extremist and religious slogans. Apart from that, they have been accused of involvement in several acts of hooliganism and attempted murder.
"The gang members have tattoos with phrases written in Arabic and pictures depicting a lion, a star and crescent," it said.
Islom Lashkari is a religious extremist group active in the territory of Pakistan.
Tajikistan's National Security Committee has declined to say whether or not the detained persons are affiliated with this organization, or they are ordinary criminals who used the name of this notorious religious group as a cover.
In 2013, Tajik police detained 48 suspected members of different terrorist organizations, including 31 possible members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and another 17 from Jamaat Ansarullah (the Helpers of Allah).
Tajikistan's official crime rates grew 10.5% in 2013 year-on-year to 18,336 crimes.
