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Fight against Islamic state

Islamic State recruiting professionals in Uzbekistan — media

The group offers them from $20,000 to $30,000

© ITAR-TASS/Vitaly Belousov

TASHKENT, September 4. /TASS/. Islamic State terrorist organization recruits professionals and skilled workers in Uzbekistan, local media reported on Friday.

"Most Uzbeks that IS is looking for aren’t militants," Uzbekistan’s National Security Service analyst Khusan Mamurov said. "The group offers them from $20,000 to $30,000," he added.

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"According to our information, around 500-600 people from Uzbekistan are members of the terrorist organization. However, we do not have verifiable information about the number of people who moved to the area controlled by IS," Mamurov said.

Special services warn that apart from encouraging militants to bring along their families, the terrorist organization is trying to lure qualified specialists to Syria and Iraq instead of recruiting only militants. By doing so, the group wants to prove that it will be able to establish a viable state and not only to fight. Doctors, engineers and people with religious education are especially valuable to the Islamic State.

According to political analyst and expert on the Middle East Linara Yuldasheva, the Islamic State "recruits educated young men either with families or they motivate them to start a family." "These people will most likely not fight. It is very likely that they will later return home to promote their ideas in the society," she warned.

Special services say the Islamic State uses talented specialists in IT and public relations for creating their online propaganda.

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Islamic State Uzbekistan

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