A previously unknown Islamic group claimed responsibility Sunday for a recent string of bombings and shootings that killed at least 47 people in Uzbekistan. In a statement posted on at least three militant Islamic Web sites, the Jihad Islamic Group said the attacks were launched in retaliation for the secular Uzbek regime's oppression of devout Muslims.
| The "Jihad Islamic Group," see, is different from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and different form the Islamic Movement of Turkestan, and different from Hizb ut-Tahrir... |
It was the first publicized claim of responsibility for the four days of explosions, suicide attacks and assaults on police that began March 28. The attacks killed 10 police officers and four civilians. Thirty-three alleged terrorists were also killed in the attacks that Uzbek officials have blamed on international terrorists linked to al-Qaida. "The Jihad Islamic Group is responsible for all the jihad operations that took place and are still going on in the Islamic state of Uzbekistan," the statement said. "These operations came as a response to the injustice and brutality practiced by the infidel leaders in this country," the statement said. |