DUSHANBE, September 11, 2010, Asia-Plus – Unknown Islamist group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Khujand.

Reuters reported on September 9 that a hitherto unknown Islamist militant group that called itself Jamaat Ansarullah in Tajikistan, on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide car bombing in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province.

Jamaat Ansarullah in Tajikistan, in a statement on the unofficial Islamist website www.kavkazcenter.com, said a single suicide bomber drove a car into the police station in Khujand on September 3 and blew himself up.  It said at least 50 people were killed or wounded in the attack.

The website on which the statement was published is often used by Islamist rebels in Russia to claim responsibility for attacks.  Jamaat Ansarullah in Tajikistan said in the statement: "The operation was carried out in response to the killing and humiliation of our brothers and simple Muslims, which took place behind the walls of this place accursed by Allah."

We will recall that according to the statement released by the Ministry of Interior, two police officers were killed and 25 others were injured as suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the office of the Sughd regional body empowered to combat organized crime at around 8:00 am of September 3.

The blast destroyed parts of the building of the Sughd anti organized crime division and shattered windows in surrounding buildings.

A special commission led by the Security Council Secretary Amirqul Azimov has been set up to investigate the Khujand attack.

According to Tajik law enforcement authorities, the terrorist act was aimed at impeding investigation into murder of Homidjon Karimov, who was closely connected with criminal circles.

Five persons have been arrested on suspicion of having been involved in killing of Homidjon Karimov, and their supporters tried to arrange a crush-out for them or to impede the investigation, the statement said.

We will recall that former bazaar director Homidjon Karimov was shot to death on August 30.  Law enforcement authorities say Homidjon Karimov was member of one of criminal groupings that brutally beaten a local resident in May 2006.  Five confederates of Karimov were sentenced to prison terms of between 9 and 13 years that time, while Karimov himself managed to flee.  He was later detained and sentenced to nine years in prison.

The suicide bomber reportedly drove the explosive packed car with high speed into the gated compound of the anti-organized crime division – as the gate was closing after two police cars entered the complex – and the car exploded.

Tajik law enforcement authorities noted that it could not be ruled out that persons involved in the blast had ties to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).  According to them, five persons detained on suspicion of having been involved in murder of Karimov were in one of those police cars.

The source at the Ministry of Interior says organizers of the murder of Karimov were detained on September 6.  Among them are Mansourjon Karimov, Fayoz Muhiddinov, Abdullo Komilov and Suhrob Zoidov.  The majority of them are residents of the village of Surkh, Isfara district.   A search operation for the direct executors of the murder is going on.