DUSHANBE, April 23, 2015, Asia-Plus — According to information posted on one of Odnoklassniki accounts, five other Tajiks have been killed in Iraq fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Tajik national, nicknamed Sayfullo, was reportedly killed on April 20. Another Tajik, nicknamed Abduraqib at-Tajiki, was killed on April 17. Besides, Tajik nationals, nicknamed Aby ‘Umayr, Abu Mahdi Tajik and Abu Musab, were killed in Iraq on April 18, 15 and 12 respectively.
We will recall that according to information posted on one of the ISIL Twitter accounts, three Tajiks, nicknamed Aby Ayub, Sultan and Imran were killed in Iraq on March 30.
The Interior Ministry of Tajikistan says that 144 Tajik nationals fighting in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been revealed over the first three months of this year. Twelve of them have been detained and criminal proceedings have been instituted against them.
Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda said last month that 50 Tajik ISIL militants were killed in Syria. According to him, there are 200 Tajiks fighting alongside ISIL militants in Syria and Iraq.
Meanwhile Edward Lemon, a doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter who tracks Tajik militants in Syria and Iraq told Radio Liberty on March 27 that he has found online evidence for 70 fighters. “But there are likely to be more who have traveled and whose existence has not been reported in the media. I think a figure of between 100 and 200 would be fairly accurate,” Mr. Lemon said.
Mr. Lemon, whose research examines the links between migration, religion, and security within Central Asian communities in Russia, noted that “it seems like many are being recruited in Russia.”
Mr. Lemon noted that most Tajik militants seem to be experiencing their first combat in Syria and Iraq.
