At least 25 inmates and two security officers have been killed in a riot at a high-security prison in the northern Tajik city of Khujand, security sources said on Thursday.

Local authorities confirmed there had been a riot on Wednesday at the prison known for housing people convicted on extremism charges, but provided no other information.

The ex-Soviet country’s government has yet to confirm the prison riot or the deaths.

The prison in Khujand, located some 300 kilometres (186 miles) to the north of the capital Dushanbe, has seen prison breaks in the past.

In 2016, a guard and a prisoner were killed after three inmates initiated a jailbreak.

At the time the interior ministry said the prisoners had “planned to join the ranks of ISIS.” </s> At least 32 people, including three prison guards and 29 inmates, have been killed in a high-security prison in Tajikistan after convicted Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) fighters started a riot.

The Central Asian nation's justice ministry said the riot broke out late on Sunday in Vahdat, 10 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe, as the fighters armed themselves with knives and killed three guards and five fellow prisoners.

One of the instigators of the riot was Bekhruz Gulmurod, son of Gulmurod Khalimov, a Tajik special forces colonel who defected to ISIL in 2015 and, according to the ministry, has since been killed in Syria.

Security forces killed 24 prisoners and restored order in the prison which has 1,500 inmates, the ministry added.

Last November, ISIL claimed responsibility for another Tajik prison riot which followed a deadly attack by its followers on tourists in July 2018.

A Tajik man, who joined ISIL before handing himself over to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Reuters news agency last month that many foreigners who enlisted in its self-declared caliphate were jailed or killed for trying to leave.

Tajikistan has offered amnesty to those who quit the armed group and return home, provided they've committed no other crimes. </s> At least 27 people are dead after a riot broke out at a high-security prison in Tajikistan last night, it has been reported.

Twenty-five prisoners and at least two security officers were killed amid the violence, three security sources said today.

The incident began late yesterday when an inmate - believed to be a member of the Islamic State - allegedly attacked a guard.

The prisoner seized the guard's assault rifle during the attack, according to an interior ministry official, who declined to give his name.

A riot then broke out, during which dozens were reportedly killed.

Officers restored order hours later with the help of reinforcements, a security official speaking on condition of anonymity said.

The prison in the northern Tajik city of Khujand is where inmates convicted of religious extremism offences are generally held.

The facility also houses other prisoners.

Both officials said at least 25 inmates were killed during the incident, as well as one warder and one policeman.

The third source, also a security official, said three guards had died.

Local authorities confirmed a riot had occurred but gave no details.

Khujand lies around 185 miles north of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

In July, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack which killed four Western tourists in Tajikistan, an impoverished Central Asian country. </s> DUSHANBE (Reuters) - At least 25 inmates and two security officers have been killed in a riot at a high-security prison in the northern Tajik city of Khujand, security sources said on Thursday.

Local authorities confirmed there had been a riot on Wednesday at the prison known for housing people convicted on extremism charges, but provided no other information. </s> Tajik security forces have killed at least 13 inmates at a high-security prison in the northern city of Khujand where a riot broke out, security sources say.

Local authorities confirmed there had been a riot at the prison, but provided no other information. Khujand lies around 300km north of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

According to an interior ministry official not authorised to comment publicly, the riot started when one inmate regarded by the authorities as a member of the Islamic State militant group attacked a prison guard.

The prison called in security forces to help quash the riot, which had now ended, said a security official.

Tajikistan, an impoverished Central Asian country, routinely reports detentions and convictions of Islamist militants. Last July, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack which killed four Western tourists in Tajikistan. </s> DUSHANBE: At least 32 people were killed in a prison riot in Tajikistan, including 24 members of the Islamic State jihadist group and three guards, authorities said Monday.

Five inmates and the three guards were initially killed by prisoners in the riot that erupted on Sunday evening, and the others died in clashes with security forces trying to restore order, the justice ministry said in a statement.

The prison in Vakhdat, 17 kilometres (11 miles) east of the capital Dushanbe, holds 1,500 inmates.

The ministry said the rioters first stabbed to death three guards, and then five other inmates “in order to intimidate” the others.

They then took other prisoners hostage before opening fire in the jail’s medical facilities.

“Following a reprisal operation, 24 members of this group were killed and 35 others arrested. The hostages were freed” and calm restored, the statement said.

Two of the prisoners murdered by the rioters were well-known activists of the banned opposition group Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, the local prison service said.

Among the leaders of the riot, authorities identified Bekhruz Gulmurod, the son of the former head of Tajik special forces who became a member of the IS leadership in Syria and was killed there in September 2017.

The 20-year-old was sentenced to ten years in prison in July 2017 for attempting to join IS in Syria. He was previously detained at Dushanbe airport before boarding a flight to Istanbul.

Authorities said the prison was now functioning normally, with the “situation currently under control.”

Second riot in six months

The prison is a short drive from Dushanbe, with residential neighbourhoods nearby. It houses inmates convicted of various crimes, including terror and extremism charges, and is secured by armed guards.

Families of inmates gathered near the prison on Monday to find out if their relatives were safe.

In November 2018, another riot claimed by IS left 26 people dead in Khujand, a city in the northeast of the country. That riot was initiated by a former IS member seeking to spark a mass escape.

Last week a Tajik court sentenced nine of the prison staff, including the head of the prison, to jail terms up to four years of prison for “negligence.”

The jihadist rioters are awaiting sentencing and face new prison terms ranging from ten to twenty years.

Tajikistan, a poor mountainous country of nine million people bordering Afghanistan, has suffered from severe conflict since it gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in Tajikistan during a five-year civil war in the 1990s when rebel groups including Islamists rose up against the government.

Authorities in the majority-Muslim country have said that more than 1,000 Tajiks, including a high-ranking police officer who defected in 2015, joined IS in Syria and Iraq in recent years.

In July 2018, an attack on foreign cycling tourists left four dead and two injured. The assault was widely attributed to IS, although the government has refused to acknowledge the link. </s> DUSHANBE: Twenty-four prisoners and two guards were killed after dozens of inmates rioted at a maximum security prison in northern Tajikistan, security sources said on Thursday. Special forces were called in to help restore order at the prison in Tajikistan’s second-largest city of Khujand after the riot broke out there on Wednesday, sources told AFP. The penal facility houses prisoners serving long sentences for serious crimes such as murder and extremism including membership of the Islamic State group (IS). One security source told AFP that the non-prisoners who died were a guard and a soldier. </s> DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: At least 32 people were killed in a prison riot in Tajikistan, including 24 members of the Islamic State militant group and three guards, authorities said Monday.

Five inmates and the three guards were initially killed by prisoners in the riot that erupted on Sunday evening, and the others died in clashes with security forces trying to restore order, the justice ministry said in a statement.

The prison in Vakhdat, 17 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe, holds 1,500 inmates. The ministry said the rioters first stabbed to death three guards, and then five other inmates "in order to intimidate" the others. They then took other prisoners hostage before opening fire in the jail´s medical facilities.

"Following a reprisal operation, 24 members of this group were killed and 35 others arrested. The hostages were freed" and calm restored, the statement said. Two of the prisoners murdered by the rioters were well-known activists of the banned opposition group Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, the local prison service said.

Among the leaders of the riot, authorities identified Bekhruz Gulmurod, the son of the former head of Tajik special forces who became a member of the IS leadership in Syria and was killed there in September 2017. The 20-year-old was sentenced to ten years in prison in July 2017 for attempting to join IS in Syria. He was previously detained at Dushanbe airport before boarding a flight to Istanbul.

Authorities said the prison was now functioning normally, with the "situation currently under control."

The prison is a short drive from Dushanbe, with residential neighbourhoods nearby. It houses inmates convicted of various crimes, including terror and extremism charges, and is secured by armed guards. Families of inmates gathered near the prison on Monday to find out if their relatives were safe.

In November 2018, another riot claimed by IS left 26 people dead in Khujand, a city in the northeast of the country. That riot was initiated by a former IS member seeking to spark a mass escape. Last week a Tajik court sentenced nine of the prison staff, including the head of the prison, to jail terms up to four years of prison for "negligence."

The jihadist rioters are awaiting sentencing and face new prison terms ranging from ten to twenty years. Tajikistan, a poor mountainous country of nine million people bordering Afghanistan, has suffered from severe conflict since it gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. </s> Twenty-four prisoners and two guards were killed after dozens of inmates rioted at a maximum security prison in northern Tajikistan, security sources said on Thursday.

Special forces were called in to help restore order at the prison in Tajikistan's second-largest city of Khujand after the riot broke out there on Wednesday, sources told AFP.

The penal facility houses prisoners serving long sentences for serious crimes such as murder and extremism including membership of the Islamic State group (IS).

One security source told AFP that the non-prisoners who died were a guard and a soldier.

A second source said that a further six guards had been injured.

"A riot involving dozens of prisoners occurred Wednesday night and continued into Thursday," one of the security officials told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The second source said the riot had begun when prisoners seized "cutting objects" from a workshop in the prison.

A funeral for the soldier and the guard who died in the clashes was planned for Thursday, one of the sources said.

The ex-Soviet country's government has yet to confirm the prison riot or the deaths.

On Thursday the border service of Tajikistan's neighbour Kyrgyzstan said it had beefed up security near the countries' shared frontier because of the riot.

The border services of the two countries "have already discussed the situation in Khujand," spokeswoman Gulmira Borubayeva told AFP.

The prison in Khujand, located some 300 kilometres (185 miles) to the north of the capital Dushanbe, has seen violence and jailbreaks in the past.

In 2016, a guard and a prisoner were killed after three inmates initiated a jailbreak.

At the time the interior ministry said the prisoners had "planned to join the ranks of ISIS."

Tajikistan, a country of 8.5 million people bordering Afghanistan, has suffered severe conflict since it gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the country during a five-year civil war in the 1990s when rebel groups including Islamists rose up against the government.

Authorities in the majority-Muslim country have said that more than 1,000 Tajiks, including a high-ranking police officer who defected in 2015, joined IS in Syria and Iraq in recent years.

In July, an attack on foreign cycling tourists left four dead and two injured.

The assault was widely attributed to IS, although the government has refused to acknowledge the link.
A riot at a high-security prison in Khujand, Tajikistan, known for holding convicted terrorists, including ISIL members, leaves at least 27 people dead.