KHUJAND, July 2, 2009, Asia-Plus — Investigation into case of alleged head of the cell of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Anvar Qayumov has reported revealed the involvement of him in two other crimes.
According to the Sughd police directorate, Anvar Qayumov and his confederates are suspected of having been involved in attack on the police department in the city of Qairoqqum in January 2006 and attack on the border-crossing checkpoint in the Isfara district in May 2006.
“Investigation has established that Anvar Qayumov and members of this criminal group Abdukholiq Boboyev, Abdurahim Umarov, Qudratullo Nematulloyev, Bahrom Mirrofiyev, Khursand Zokirov, Dilshod Rahimov and Shavkat Yusupov on May 12, 2006 attacked border unit 2199 in the Isfara district. As a result of skirmish, two border guards were killed and one other was wounded. The assailants seized 18 assault rifles Kalashnikov and sub-machine Kalashnikov and escaped,” the source at the Sughd police directorate said.
We will recall that assailants then headed to the Kyrguz region of Batken. When their Opel overturned, they hijacked a Mercedes Benz, killing the driver. Along the way to Osh, 100 kilometers of Batken, the gunmen attacked a unit of the Kyrgyz border guards and customs officers near the village of Pungon, killing two border guards and wounding one customs officer. As a result of operation by Kyrgyz security forces against the gunmen, four of them were reportedly killed and one other was captured.
The source at the Sughd police directorate added that members of Qayumov’s gang were also suspected of having been involved in attack on the police department in the city of Qairoqqum in January 2006.
We will recall that unidentified men attacked a pretrial detention facility of the Qairoqqum police department on January 25, 2006. Assailants killed the prison warden Bobojon Gadoboyev and freed Fathullo Rahimov, who had been arrested on suspicion of having had contacts with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
