DUSHANBE, January 29, 2015, Asia-Plus – One of Tajiks fighting in Syria claims there more than 2,000 Tajik nationals fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants in Syria.
“Once we said that 500 Tajiks are fighting in Syria, but now the number of Tajik fighting here is more than 2,000. When you see them here, you feel yourself in Tajikistan. At this rate no one will soon remain in Tajikistan, everyone will arrive in Syria to fight,” Nusrat Nazarov, also known as Abu Kholid Kulobi, told Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service in an interview.
Nusrat Nazarov is reportedly leader of Tajik jihadists in the al-Tabqa area, ar-Raqqah province in Syria.
According to the Tajik law enforcement authorities, a 38-year-old resident of the Charmgaroni Poyon neighborhood of the southern city of Kulob, Nusrat Nazarov is wanted by police for his involvement in drug dealing.
A week ago, Nazarov’s relatives called on him to return home to bring up his children.
In early January, Nusrat Nazarov reportedly threatened Ahmad Ibrohim, editor-in-chief of the Kulob-based independent weekly
Payk
, with reprisals.
According to Central Asia Online, Ahmad Ibrohim had a phone call on January 8 threatening to bomb his office in Kulob. The newspaper regularly covers efforts to fight Islamist extremism and terrorism, as well as events in Syria and Iraq. Although the caller did not identify himself, Ibrohim recognized the voice as that of Nusrat Nazarov. Nazarov threatened to slaughter him and his colleagues, Ibrohim said.
Ibrohim immediately reported the threat to the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) so it could trace the call. The security officers confirmed what Ibrohim suspected, that the call had come from Syria.
Other journalists have also received threats. Central Asia Online reports that militant threats to Tajik reporters” lives, sadly, are nothing new. They say the frequency of such threats has picked up in the past six months.
Tajik expert in religion, Abdullo Muhaqqiq, considers that it is necessary to find out the reason why Tajiks go to fight in Syria and kill Muslims. “In my opinion, one of the main factors for that is propagation of Salafi ideas in Tajikistan,” said Muhaqqiq. “Salafis began their activities in Tajikistan fifteen years ago. One thing is clear – those fighting in Syria have nothing to do with Islam and the Hanafi Madhab.”
It is to be noted that the Tajik law enforcement agencies have given differing reports on the numbers of Tajik nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq. Thus, the Interior Ministry said that around 200 Tajik nationals are fighting gin Syria and Iraq. However, the State Committee for the National Security (SCNS) said in November 2014 that there are around 300 Tajik citizens fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Experts note that most Tajiks who travel to Syria to join militant groups were migrant workers recruited in Russia.
