The 18-year-old son of a former police colonel, who joined Islamic State (IS) extremist group, has been arrested.

Behrouz Halimov, the son of fugitive police colonel Gulmurod Halimov, was arrested at the Dushanbe airport on April 17 while boarding the Dushanbe-Moscow flight, according to the Tajik law enforcement authorities.

“According to some data which are currently being checked by special services, Behrouz Halimov was keeping in touch with his father and was going to travel from Moscow to Iraq or Syria to join the IS terrorist group,” a source at one of Tajik law enforcement agencies told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

Behrouz Halimov reportedly finished secondary school in his native village of Darai Fon in Varzob district last year and was engaged in small trade.   

Meanwhile Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported last month that Behrouz Halimov’s relatives told RFE/RL’s Tajik Service on April 17 that he was detained three weeks ago and is being held incommunicado.

They said they have received no explanation of the arrest, which could not be independently verified, according to RFE/RL’s Tajik Service. 

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.