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Police, FSB detain leader of Islamic Party of Turkestan’s Moscow branch

The detained will be extradited to Uzbekistan

MOSCOW, March 11 (Itar-Tass) – The police and the federal security service have detained a leader of the Moscow branch of the Islamic Party of Turkestan international terrorist organisation, the Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Monday.

“The Interior Ministry’s Chief Department on fighting extremism in Maryinsky Park district and the Federal Security Service /FSB/ have discovered leaders and participants of Moscow’s branch of the Islamic Party of Turkestan international terrorist organisation, which was involved in enrolling and transportation of compatriots and those coming from the Central Asian region to training camps in the Afghani-Pakistani zone and in the Arab region,” the source said.

The police report the detention of Uzbekistan’s citizen Abdukhofiz Holmurodov, who headed the branch. Uzbekistan had put him on the international wanted list for accusations of overthrowing the country’s constitutional establishment and of participating in illegal activities of religious-extremist organisations.

“The detained used fake documents. He was carrying a Tajik passport, which bore signs of forgery. The detained will be extradited to Uzbekistan,” the police said.

In mid-February in the Moscow region’s Odintsovo and Podolsk districts, the police detained two citizens of Uzbekistan, members of the Islamic Party of Turkestan international terrorist organisation. They are suspected of illegal activities to enrol and transport recruits to the Afghani-Pakistani zone.

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