DUSHANBE, July 28, 2009, Asia-Plus — Another foreign hireling – a 25-year-old resident of the city of Kizlyar in Russia’s Dagestan Republic, Magomed Satziyullayev – has been detained in the Rasht district, eastern Tajikistan.
The source at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) says that while giving evidence, Satziyullayev said that he had been invited to participate in jihad in Tajikistan in the beginning of this year already. “According to Satziyullayev, he and two his fellow-townsmen, students from the Kizlyar Madrasah, went to St. Petersburg and from there they came to Dushanbe,” said the MoI source, “From Dushanbe they were taken to Tavildara and settled in the village of Pastirogh.”
Satziyullayev said that Mullo Abdullo had visited them in Pastirogh and given his blessing to perform jihad in Tajikistan. “Nemat Azizov provided them with weapons and they went to Childara, where they were met by Mirzo Ziyoev, who said that they should make preparations for attacking the district center of Tavildara and seizing administrative buildings,” the source said.
On July 8, they attacked a police checkpoint near Tavildara but police fended off then, wounding several of them, before they retreated. On July 16, they attacked a national-guard post but were repulsed again and were forced to retreat. According to Satziullayev, he was wounded in that shootout and was forced to leave the scene of action. Several days later, he was arrested by police officers in the Rasht district.
According to the MoI, assault rifle Kalashnikov, one hand grenade F-1 and more than 200 bullets were confiscated from Satziyullayev.
We will recall that Minister of Interiors Abdurahim Qahhorov told a press conference in Dushanbe on July 22 that the situation has stabilized in Tavildara thanks to the government”s military operations there. Qahhorov said that during several weeks of fighting at least nine armed militants were killed and more than 100 were detained. He also said three or four militants are hiding but security forces are searching for them.
