Terrorist attacks in Tajikistan: Airport attacked twice, UK issues travel advisory

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – Dushanbe was rocked by terrorist attacks on security personnel as the capital of Tajikistan witnessed two separate incidents in which around 11 policemen and security personnel were killed. Unconfirmed information indicated that the airport came under attack twice. The government claimed 8 law-enforcing officials were dead and 9 terrorists were killed, but no independent source confirmed the killing of 9 terrorists.

The Russian news agency, Sputnik, claims that 33 police officers and soldiers were killed, and personnel of 102nd military base of Russia in Tajikistan has been put on high alert following the clashes in the capital. The Russian Embassy in Tajikistan said on Friday evening that it had taken additional security measures following the clashes in Dushanbe.

The UK government has released a travel advisory regarding the armed clashes close to Dushanbe International Airport and asked its citizens to stay at home if they are in Dushanbe and do not visit Tajikistan if they plan any visit. The US Embassy in Dushanbe has taken security measures as at least three attackers are at large. The embassy has been closed down for regular work until further orders. Radio Liberty claimed that police cordoned off an area near the airport and conducted a house-to-house search after attacks.

The Tajik interior ministry released a press statement in the evening and said eight policemen were killed in the attacks in the town of Vahdat just outside Dushanbe and at a central interior ministry building. The ministry blamed the sacked Deputy Defense Minister, Gen. Aduhalim Nazarzoda, for the attacks and said that he was leading a “terrorist group.”

It may be mentioned that Nazarzoda is a former member of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) and got the title of General when he was fighting against the government during the 1992-97 civil war for establishing Islamic rule after independence of the central Asian state. He joined the cabinet after a peace agreement that was signed in 1997. He is not happy with the harsh handling by the government against practicing Muslims and the death of a college student by the hands of police which ignited the situation, because the boy had a beard, and the police abducted him and allegedly tortured him. He was hospitalized, and sources in Dushanbe claimed the boy died of his injuries early Friday morning; his death played a role in the attacks on law-enforcing agencies by pro-Islamic elements.

Information received from Vahdat indicated that the main roads have been blocked by the police and law-enforcing agencies, and the hunt for more terrorists has started.

According to unconfirmed information, the first incident took place in the early morning outside Dushanbe airport at the Interior Ministry building where unidentified people fired at forces guarding the airport and the building and killed two soldiers of Special Purpose Police Detachment of MIA and one State Traffic Police Inspector. Another STP Inspector was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

In another attack that took place in the Vahdat area around 20 km away from Dushanbe, unidentified attackers killed 8 law enforcers in the town of Vahdat (20 km to the east of Dushanbe) on Friday morning. Two police officers were wounded. They were taken to a hospital. Their health condition is critical.

Law enforcing agencies have cordoned off an area in Vahdat, and journalists were not allowed to visit the spot even as of the filing of this report.

According to taxi drivers who run on the Dushanbe-Kulob road, the city is under the strict control of police, and on the approaches to it, there are extra police checkpoints. Additional security measures are also being taken directly to the capital of Tajikistan. Limited vehicular traffic is allowed in the capital and particularly on the popular and important Somoni Avenue. The police reported that this limitation of traffic was due to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the National Guard. It may be mentioned that President Emomali Rakhmon attended an event in connection with 20th anniversary of the National Guard in the same area where the fight was reported.

It is pertinent to mention that Tajik authorities averted major terror attacks in July 2015 and arrested 2 men affiliated with the Islamic State extremist group who planned 12 terrorist attacks across the country. The Tajik Interior Ministry claimed that investigators found oxygen capsules, explosives, and other elements used to make bombs in the houses of the detained men, Bobojon Rajabov and Sadriddin Jabborov, on July 24.

The ministry claimed in July that it intercepted one person who had a connection with Islamic State militants in Syria, and the accused informed interrogators that he was planning attacks on three police stations in Dushanbe and several other places across the country.

Tajik authorities informed Kyrgyzstan authorities that terrorists were also planning attacks inside in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

Eyewitnesses claimed that attackers were armed with automatic weapons including AK-47s. “People are scared and they do not talk about the event, and this is hard to know what happened actually,” said one blogger when she was contacted to comment about the situation in the city.

The Australian media is giving special attention to this situation as it has sparked serious concern about the security of Australia’s World Cup qualifying fixture against Tajikistan that is scheduled on Tuesday within the Tajikistan capital.