DUSHANBE, February 8, 2016, Asia-Plus – In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Tajik Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon revealed on February 8 that 120 Tajik nationals returned from Syria and Iraq last year.
“78 Tajik nationals and 42 members of their families returned from Syria and Iraq last year due to explanatory work carried out by the country’s authorities,” Tajik chief prosecutor said.
We will recall that Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda told reporters on January 25 that 61 Tajik nationals had returned from Syria and Iraq, while 148 had been killed in fighting there.
The interior minister also said Tajik Colonel Gulmurod Halimov, who had joined the Islamic State extremist group last year, has since been seriously injured twice.
The minister claimed the Islamic State terrorist organization was now paying Halimov $100 a month as a “pension.”
Halimov, the former commander of the special police unit (OMON) had confirmed in a YouTube video that he joined the militant group.
The interior minister said Tajik authorities were continuing efforts to capture Halimov.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports Tajik authorities say up to 1,000 nationals have joined Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, doubling the figure that officials previously provided.
