Police in Kyrgyzstan have detained eight alleged members of a banned Islamic group.
Interior Ministry officials said on February 14 that the men were detained in the southern district of Kara-Suu on suspicion of being members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
According to the ministry, police found books and video materials that featured "possible extremist content" in the homes of some of the suspects.
Kyrgyz authorities contend that Hizb ut-Tahrir plays a role in efforts by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) militants to radicalize the country's youth and recruit them to fight in Syria and Iraq.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned across former Soviet Central Asia and in Russia, says it is a peaceful group.
The stated goal of the international pan-Islamic political organization is to unite Muslim countries in a global caliphate ruled by Shari'a law.
