According to the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan Sharif Nazarov, the country’s law enforcement forces have averted a series of terrorist attacks planned by the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), reported Vesti.uz.

As Nazarov stated at a press conference, “initial data indicates that from the detained seven Uzbek citizens suspected to be affiliated with the IMU, law enforcement officials confiscated ammunition, 50 detonators, as well as 65 grams of hexogen.” According to the news source, the deputy minister announced that the group was planning a series of terrorist attacks in Dushanbe “with significant casualty numbers.”

Nazarov also added that as of the beginning of the year, 13 members of what he called various “extremist groups” have already been detained in Tajikistan.

This information was originally published July 24, 2007 (www.vesti.uz).