Bishkek, Dec 19 (IANS): Kyrgyzstan has detained 22 active members of the religious extremist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir in an operation, the press service of the country's State Committee for National Security reported on Thursday.
The joint operation of the State Committee for National Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was launched in the city of Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan, according to the report.
"A stable religious extremist group has been promoting destructive ideology among the population of Jalal-Abad for several years, recruiting new adherents, creating fake accounts on the Internet, and using an underground printing house to replicate and distribute extremist materials in Kyrgyzstan," the report said.
A large amount of extremist literature, computer and copying equipment used to produce leaflets and other materials were seized, it added, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier this year, the Kyrgyz security agencies had detained six members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation in southern Kyrgyzstan.
The six adherents of the banned organisation, who actively advocated for extremist ideology, were detained in the Suzak district of the Jalal-Abad region.
Extremist literature, media content, leaflets, and mobile phones were seized from those detainees, as well.
The accused had systematically spread extremist ideology among the local population to recruit new members into the organisation.
In December 2023, the Kyrgyz special services had foiled a terror attack attempt by arresting members of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Jalalabad who had plans to launch terror strikes during the New Year holidays.
The detainees were remotely recruited via the Internet and were planning to plant homemade explosive devices near the main New Year tree in the central square in Jalalabad. They also intended to launch an armed attack on a church in the city following instructions from ISKP emissaries.
Irrefutable evidence relating to the attack attempt was found during the operation, including correspondence with the terrorist group's emissaries, an action plan and instructions for making homemade bombs, as well as video recordings with an oath of allegiance to the ISKP leader.