Four close relatives of fugitive police colonel Gulrmurod Halimov who joined the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in 2015 – two his brothers and two his nephews — have been killed in a clash with Tajik security forces in Vose district, Khatlon province.
A source at Tajikistan’s power-wielding structures told Asia-Plus that the clash occurred late Tuesday (July 4) in the Ibrati village, some 25 kilometers from Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan.
According to him, they were killed while resisting arrest. Three other Halimov’s relatives were arrested.
Police suspect some of Halimov’s relatives of having contacts with terrorist organizations. The killed and the detained relatives of Halimov were reportedly going to illegally cross into Afghanistan.
Deputy chief of the Interior Ministry Organized Crime Control Directorate, Anvar Huseinov, who led an operation against Halimov’s relatives, reportedly received several stab wounds during the July 4 clash.
Citing security officials, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that Halimov’s brothers had been under surveillance in Dushanbe for some time and were followed by police after they left Tajikistan’s capital earlier on July 4.
Gulmurod Halimov’s parents are from the Vose district by origin and many his relatives live in the district.
Recall, Colonel Gulmurod Halimov was commander of the Tajik special police unit, known as OMON. He went missing in April 2015 and later appeared on the Internet, saying he had joined the IS group.
Last August, the U.S. State Department called Halimov a key member of the IS extremist group and offered a $3 million reward for information on his whereabouts.
Western media reports quoted Iraqi officials on April 14 as saying that Halimov was killed in an air strike in Mosul.
In April this year, Tajik officials arrested Halimov’s 18-year-old son, Behrouz Halimov, on charges of trying to join his father in Syria. Behrouz Halimov was reportedly arrested at the Dushanbe airport on April 17 while boarding the Dushanbe-Moscow flight.
Meanwhile, Halimov’s daughter says life has “turned into a nightmare” for their family.
Gulmurod Halimov's wife, Nazokat Murodova, and their eldest daughter Niloufar Halimova, 15, spoke to RFE/RL’s Tajik Service on May 18 in the most extensive public comments yet from the family Halimov left behind.
They said they are facing persistent psychological and social pressure, police questioning, and financial hardship since Halimov left.
