27.10.2018, Tashkent.
Four militants who held senior positions in international terrorist organizations were detained and brought to their homeland by Uzbekistani secret services, Interfax-MNA reported on October 26, citing a law enforcement source.
The special operation and the arrest were carried out by the National Security Service (SGB) of Uzbekistan with cooperation of other foreign intelligence services, which were not mentioned, said the source.
Detainees were the leaders and high-ranking members of international terrorist organizations operating in Syria such as Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari (KIB, the largest Uzbek group aligned in Syria with Jabhat al-Nusrah – an organization banned Russia) and Katibat al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad (organization banned in Russia), also linked with other terrorist organizations.
The detainees used forged documents posing as Uighurs. The detainees were directly involved in terrorist activities as well as in financing, recruiting, and transporting new members of the organization. To reach Syria, they used routes through Russia and Turkey, as well as through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
After the defeat of the terrorist groups in Syria, ISIL (organization banned in Russia) shifted its attention to the countries in Central Asia, as analysts and military experts have noted. According to Russian Lieutenant-General Alexander Lapin, the Commander of Central Military District, at least 10,000 terrorists have moved from Syria into Afghanistan.
According to the Iranian military, the US is transferring terrorists from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan. In August 2018, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern that unidentified helicopters were delivering ammunition and other assistance to militants in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. The airspace where suspicious activity was observed is under the de facto control of NATO forces.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
