The law enforcement agencies of Tajikistan have launched an anti-terrorist operation against an organized criminal group that blocked the Dushanbe-Kulma highway linking the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region (GBAO) with China. This was reported on Wednesday by the Khovar state news agency with reference to the interior ministry's press center.
According to the ministry, May 17, in order to destabilize the socio-political situation members of an organized criminal group illegally blocked the international highway Dushanbe - Kulma, located at the GBAO state borderline. The criminals showed armed resistance to the demands of the law enforcers to surrender their weapons. "In this regard, in order to ensure the safety of citizens, public order and restore unimpeded traffic on the international road Dushanbe - Kulma, the law enforcement agencies launched an anti-terrorist operation on the road in the Rushan district," the ministry said.
The ministry said that with the support of international terrorist organizations, the criminals received weapons and ammunition from abroad, as well as attracted foreign mercenaries to carry out terrorist attacks and other forms of provocations against the foundations of the constitutional order. "The activities of organized criminal groups in the Rushan district, created and financed by international terrorist organizations, have signs of crimes of a terrorist nature," the press service noted.
On Tuesday, the interior ministry reported that in the city of Khorog, the administrative center of GBAO, a group of young people at the direction of the head of the local organized criminal group Mamadbokir Mamadbokirov organized an illegal rally, and then attacked employees of the regional department of the interior ministry by detonating a hand grenade. As a result, the first deputy head of the interior ministry department and two other policemen were wounded and hospitalized. One of the attackers was wounded and died in hospital. Operational investigative measures are continuing in order to identify other members of the criminal group who took part in the armed attack and the regional prosecutor's office has opened a criminal case against the organizers of the incident.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
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Based on materials from TASS