“The group was led by Major General Abdulkhalim Mirzo Nazarzod…Nazarzod is a member of the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan…Rakhmon, a former head of a Soviet state farm who tolerates little dissent, has put pressure on the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan…He faced embarrassment earlier this year when the U.S.-trained commander of the country’s special forces declared himself a member of Islamic State (IS)….Critics of the authorities say measures to stamp out militant Islam risk provoking a backlash.” At the end of this Reuters article, there is a dismissal of the idea that these attacks have anything to do with Islam, but considerable evidence to the contrary throughout it.
“At least 10 killed in armed attacks in Tajikistan, U.S. embassy shut,” by Gabriela Baczynska and Maria Tsvetkova, Reuters, September 5, 2015 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
At least eight policemen and two gunmen were killed in Tajikistan on Friday in attacks the authorities in the Central Asian nation blamed on forces loyal to the country’s own deputy defense minister….
The events prompted the U.S. embassy in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, to shut. A statement on its website said armed gunmen had clashed with Tajik police early on Friday in the city and that the incidents “may be precursors to other acts of violence.”
Tajikistan’s interior ministry blamed the attacks in Dushanbe and the adjacent city of Vahdat on a “terrorist group” it said had seized arms and ammunition.
It said the group was led by Major General Abdulkhalim Mirzo Nazarzod, the deputy defense minister. He was dismissed later on Friday by Imomali Rakhmon, the president, for “committing a crime”.
Law enforcement officers had killed two of the attackers, at least one of whom was a state security official, and wounded three others, the ministry said….
Nazarzod is a member of the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan. A former opposition militiaman, he was brought into the Tajik armed forces under a 1997 peace deal.
Rakhmon, a former head of a Soviet state farm who tolerates little dissent, has put pressure on the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan. He is a close ally of Moscow and used Russian support during the civil war.
He faced embarrassment earlier this year when the U.S.-trained commander of the country’s special forces declared himself a member of Islamic State (IS).
Russia says it is concerned with the security situation in Central Asia following the withdrawal of NATO troops from adjacent Afghanistan. Risks of a spillover from IS in Syria and Iraq have added to fears of unrest.
Critics of the authorities say measures to stamp out militant Islam risk provoking a backlash.
Dododjon Atovulloev, a Tajik opposition activist who lives in Germany and has long known Nazarzod, said he was not a religious extremist. He cast Friday’s violence as proof of growing discontent.
“Had he been a fanatic, Rakhmon would have never made him deputy defense minister,” Atovulloev told Reuters by phone. “People are fed up working as migrant laborers, they have no freedoms.”

jihad3tracker says
* * * * OFF-TOPIC * * * * But I am putting these remarks here, rather than in the relevant post, because it is a bit back in Robert’s queue.
ON THIS AMERICAN 3-DAY WEEKEND, PERHAPS A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF US WILL HAVE A LITTLE EXTRA TIME FOR COUNTER-JIHAD AWARENESS OUTREACH.
So, let me suggest as many of us as possible email Congresspersons IN BOTH PARTIES, AND NATIONAL CANDIDATES — except idiot Trump — by sending them a link to RS’s post about the secret Hijrah disguised as a migrant crisis.
Yes, plenty of them will be relaxing — or trying to — but chiefs of staff & campaign managers seldom take a full 24 hours away from reading inbox items. As a Dem, I got in touch with one contender in my own party (NOT SANDERS OR CLINTON), using “Expert on Islam sees refugee deluge in historical and current context”.
I also emphatically suggested checking RS’s credentials first —- “About Robert Spencer” at the blog’s homepage top.
That blog post is, IMHO, an ideal introduction to Jihad Watch : the subject has a clear and major future implication of inevitable catastrophe for Europe, and thus should, for reasonably conscious senators, representatives, and presidential wannabees, serve as a U.S. immigration fire bell.
Davegreybeard says
@jihad3tracker
“So, let me suggest as many of us as possible email Congresspersons IN BOTH PARTIES, AND NATIONAL CANDIDATES — except idiot Trump…”
So how did you reach the conclusion that “idiot Trump” is any more of an idiot than the other cast of idiots that you send your correspondence to?
I say send it to ’em all.
john spielman says
another crapistan in flames. tajik must be the local word for CRAP
Angemon says
Gee, where have we heard that before…? You know, that measures meant to combat islamic “extremism” can cause a “backlash”…