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Kyrgyzstan Detains Alleged Member Of International Jihadist Group


BISHKEK -- An alleged member of an international jihadist group has been apprehended in Kyrgyzstan.

The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on January 8 that the 39-year-old man, whose name was not made public, was suspected of being a member of the Union of Islamic Jihad and allegedly took part in recruiting Kyrgyz citizens to join the Islamic insurgency in Syria.

The UKMK said the suspect underwent military training at a terrorist camp in Afghanistan.

It said he had been added to a wanted list for allegedly masterminding several terrorist acts in Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad region.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev said on December 16 that the UKMK had revealed the existence of underground groups across Central Asia that were recruiting young Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Uzbek men to fight on the Islamists' side in Syria.

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