Tajikistan Blames 'Trained in Qom' for Killing Foreign Tourists

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan has issued a statement blaming the "banned Islamic Renaissance Party and those trained in Iran" for the recent attack on foreign tourists in Tajikistan. On Sunday, in the Danghara region, located 100 kilometers south of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a vehicle deliberately ran over four foreign cyclists, and the occupants of the vehicle then attacked the cyclists with knives. The victims included two American citizens, one Dutch, and one Swedish citizen, three of whom died instantly, while the fourth died in the hospital. At least three other foreign citizens, including one French national, were also injured. According to the statement from the Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs, members of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, led by Hussein Abdusamadov, were responsible for the murder of these tourists. The statement mentions that Abdusamadov has received ideological and military training four times in Qom and Mazandaran. The statement claims that the attackers were fleeing to Afghanistan, and the information contained in the statement was obtained from the confession of one of the detainees. The Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs did not provide any evidence regarding the content of its statement. Mohiuddin Kabiri, the exiled leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party, denied his party's involvement in the murders in an interview with Reuters, stating that the Tajik government aims to divert attention from the real criminals by issuing this statement. The Ministry of Internal Affairs' statement was released one day after the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. The Amaq website, affiliated with ISIS, claimed on Monday, August 8, without providing details or evidence, that the attackers were "soldiers" of ISIS who carried out the attack at the request of the group for its loyalists to target "citizens" of the coalition governments against ISIS. There had previously been no reports of a terrorist attack against foreigners in Tajikistan. Ramadan Rahimzadeh, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan, announced the formation of a group to investigate the incident, which operates under the supervision of President Emomali Rahmon. According to Rahimzadeh, the driver of the vehicle and his companions got out after deliberately running over the cyclists and attacked them with weapons and knives. The report indicates that the victims' bodies showed signs of knife wounds. Local officials have stated that at least one person has been arrested in connection with this attack, and another was killed in a clash with security forces. It has been previously reported that two of the attackers were killed and several others arrested in connection with this incident. The Tajik police also announced the identities of three young men who are being pursued in connection with this attack. According to the police, a vehicle was found near the village of Turbulkov, which appears to be the same vehicle used in the attack on the tourists. An eyewitness told Radio Free Europe’s Tajik service that this attack was not "accidental" and that one of the injured had told him that the driver and his companions jumped out of the vehicle after running them over and attacked them with knives. The U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan also confirmed this incident in a statement, declaring that the number of tourists attacked was seven. The statement condemned the attack and urged American citizens to be more vigilant, even though there is no evidence of a threat to them. The Dutch embassy also announced that the deceased citizen from their country was a 56-year-old man, and one of the injured was a 58-year-old citizen. President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan expressed condolences to his American counterpart Donald Trump, describing the attack as "an inhumane act." The attack on foreign tourists in Tajikistan comes at a time when the country is making significant efforts to expand its tourism industry and attract foreign tourists. Tajikistan, like many other Central Asian countries, struggles with extremist groups, and reports indicate that hundreds of its citizens have joined ISIS. Tajikistan banned the Islamic Renaissance Party in 2015, labeling it a terrorist organization and imprisoning dozens of its officials and members. Until that time, the Islamic Renaissance Party was the only legal Islamist party in Central Asia. The party was first banned in 1993 but was re-legalized in 1998 after the end of the Tajik Civil War.