Uzbekistan: Authorities Take 27 Suspected Islam Militants into Custody

Twenty-seven individuals have been arrested in Uzbekistan on suspicion of religious extremism. A source tells EurasiaNet the authorities are building a case that connects the detainees to a series of murders in Tashkent during the summer.

The 27 men, who are all said to come from Syr Darya Province, were reportedly taken into custody in early October. Their detention is believed to be related to the murder of Abror Abrorov, an assistant at Tashkent's Kukeldash Mosque on July 16; a knife attack on Anvar-qori Tursunov, the chief Imam at the same mosque on July 31; and the murder of Hasan Asadov, an Interior Ministry anti-terrorism and anti-corruption officer who was investigating the crimes at the time of his death on August 9.

"Parents and relatives of the arrested men say they know absolutely nothing about [the detainees'] fate. When the relatives went to the local police department, they were told that a couple of days before [October 2] a bag full of explosives was found in front of the provincial prosecutor's office and that's also why the men are being detained," the source said on October 26.