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| Kyrgyzstan struggles to keep out al-Qaeda |
| 2004-03-03 |
| This Central Asian nation hosting U.S. troops is a preferred sanctuary for an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group because of loose border controls and widespread corruption, convicted terrorists said in interrogation records. "Kyrgyzstan has the most favorable conditions to carry out terrorist attacks and for former members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to settle down," Azizbek Karimov said in court documents. Last year, the Kyrgyz National Security Service arrested three Kyrgyz nationals allegedly preparing a terrorist attack against the base, and their trial starts Tuesday. An earlier pair of bombing attacks at a Bishkek market in 2002 and a bank in the southern city of Osh in 2003 were tied to the IMU. Along with Karimov, two Uzbek nationals -- Ilkhom Izatulloyev and Assadullo Abdullayev -- were tried in Kyrgyzstan for the bombings and sentenced to death last month. The attackers told authorities they chose those targets because of the high security around their preferred objectives, the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek and a Turkish-owned hotel. Karimov and Izatulloyev were active members of the IMU and allegedly under the direct command of the group’s leaders, Kyrgyz officials say. Both lived in Afghanistan and were trained in camps there between 1999 and 2001, until the U.S.-led war on terror began. Karimov also trained in Chechnya, where the Russian government has been fighting separatists since the 1990s. "In our first days in Chechnya, we studied weapons, tactics and topography. We didn’t have any special instructions on explosives, but we always asked our instructors about how we could make an explosive," Karimov said in his interrogation, conducted in May by Uzbek authorities, who handed over the transcripts to Kyrgyzstan. The two countries cooperated closely in the investigation, and the documents are signed by Karimov. However, the United Nations has complained of "systematic" torture in Uzbek jails, and the judicial system is closely controlled by the government, which could cast doubts on the veracity of the documents. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #11 Better brush up on your atlases guys LOL. Seriously, the 'Stans have been a quietly important part of our presence in Afghanistan and in all of Central Asia. We need access there, and it's a delicate situation in each of the countries. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-06-08 9:45:11 AM |
| #10 *slaps forehead* Of course! Now I see! *snicker* |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-08 9:25:49 AM |
| #9 Shipman, how could you even get "mex-al-plex" from that? Lucky..."mixey lup licks"? Come on. Haven't any of you ppl ever heard of DC Comics in the first place? Ever watched even 1 episode of the Superfriends? The guy's name is Mr. Mxyzptlk and it is pronounced miks-yeez-pit'l-ik. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5161 2004-06-08 9:21:17 AM |
| #8 is this part of the reason American forces are there,to serve as a hub/base from which to carry out the hunt for AQ? good that it must piss thne russkies off too |
| Posted by: Jon Shep U.K 2004-3-3 2:27:03 PM |
| #7 Actually, it's Mxyzptlk. More info here... |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2004-3-3 1:15:14 PM |
| #6 Shipman, I think it's mxy-lp-lyx (mixey lup licks) |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-3-3 12:42:11 PM |
| #5 SOT I've always wondered do you pronounce it Mix-el-plix or Mex-al-plex? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-3 12:09:27 PM |
| #4 When the article says "preferred sanctuary for al Qaida" it really means preferred sanctuary for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a Central Asian group allied to Al Qaeda. So you shouldn't expect to see Binny of Zawahiri caught there anytime soon |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-3-3 3:49:52 AM |
| #3 doesn't mr. mxylplyx from superman comics live in kyrgyzstan? |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2004-3-3 2:29:41 AM |
| #2 loose border controls and widespread corruption Heh, that's like 95% of the world. |
| Posted by: RW 2004-3-3 2:15:42 AM |
| #1 Jeesh. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan. Where the heck is that?? Ok, Ok, I've got google, but I've been reading Rantburg for over a year and this is the first I've heard about this country's involvement...not that that means much. But now I'm told it's the "preferred sanctuary" for al Qaida. What's up with that? |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-3 1:17:09 AM |