Kazakhstan targets banned Islamic group in major security operation
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 21 December 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kazakhstan targets banned Islamic group in major security operation, 21 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a38a13.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
December 21, 2016
ASTANA – Authorities in Kazakhstan say they have detained 16 suspected members of a banned Islamic group during a major security operation in three parts of the predominantly Muslim Central Asian country.
The National Security Committee (KNB) said on December 21 that it had launched a counterterrorism operation targeting suspected cells of Takfir wal-Hijra, which is on lists of terrorist organizations in Russia, the United States, and several other countries.
The KNB released few details about the operation, which it said is being conducted in Almaty – Kazakhstan's biggest city – as well as the Almaty, Aqtobe, and Atyrau regions.
Takfir wal-Hijra (Excommunication and Exodus) emerged in Egypt in the 1960s and is believed to have links with Al-Qaeda.
The group was banned in Kazakhstan in 2014.
Critics of President Nursultan Nazarbaev's government say the authorities sometimes use allegations of extremism as a pretext to suppress dissent.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
