DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: 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." </s> Convicted Islamic State militants started a riot at a high-security prison in Tajikistan, in which several guards and dozens of inmates were killed. Local authorities have ramped up security in the vicinity.

The riot broke out late Sunday at a heavily-guarded prison facility in Vahdat, Tajikistan, just 15km east of the capital, Dushanbe, according to Justice Ministry officials quoted by local and Russian media. Armed with knives, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) convicts took prison guards hostage, demanding the immediate release of other inmates.

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The situation became more violent after the militants killed the hostages and tried to assault other guards. Security forces intervened and took “resolute measures” to bring the situation under control, but at least 29 prisoners were killed in the standoff.

Meanwhile in Dushanbe, additional police patrols were dispatched by local authorities in the aftermath of the riot. Heavy military presence is also reported close to a highway connecting Vahdat with the capital.

The former Soviet republic of Tajikistan has seen a resurgence of Islamist militancy. In 2018, another riot struck a prison in the second-largest city, Khujand. Numerous radicals tried to seize the guards’ weapons and overcome the facility. Riot police killed 24 militants and restored order after the riot, which was claimed by IS.

The incident has left the city’s security forces on high alert, and all roads to and from the area are under special control. The fact that the riot might have been inspired by an IS militant adds to concerns that the terrorist organization is gaining ground in Tajikistan, a Central Asian country bordering troubled Afghanistan.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! </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> 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> 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> Image copyright Reuters

At least 29 inmates and three guards have been killed during a riot at a high-security prison in Tajikistan, the country's justice ministry said.

A group of Islamic State (IS) members killed the guards before releasing fellow IS convicts and turning on other prisoners, their statement read.

Guards then opened fire, leaving 24 more prisoners dead.

The facility is home to 1,500 prisoners and lies in the city of Vakhdat east of the capital Dushanbe.

It is the second deadly prison riot to hit Tajikistan in the last six months.

The justice ministry statement said rioting started on Sunday. IS inmates killed five fellow prisoners before taking others hostage and starting a fire.

Some of the inmates are political prisoners, and the ministry said two of those killed by the convicts were members of the banned opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), including the senior member Sattor Karimov. The party's leaders are all in exile or in prison.

It is unclear who else is among the dead.

One of the instigators was Bekhruz Gulmurod, a son of Gulmurod Khalimov. Mr Khalimov was a Tajik special forces soldier who defected to IS and was killed fighting in Syria.

Last November, 21 prisoners and two guards were killed during a riot at a maximum-security prison in Khujand, in northern Tajikistan. IS has claimed responsibility for the incident. </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 after a riot broke out at a high-security prison in Tajikistan, three security sources said on Thursday.

The violence started late on Wednesday when an inmate believed to be a member of militant group Islamic State attacked a guard and seized his assault rifle, said an interior ministry official who declined to give his name.

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 prisoners convicted of religious extremism offences, including membership of Islamic State, are generally held. It also houses other prisoners.

Both officials said at least 25 inmates were killed, 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 300 km (185 miles) north of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

In July, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack which killed four Western tourists in Tajikistan, an impoverished Central Asian country. </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.
Thirty-two people are killed when Islamic State members started a prison riot and a fire in a prison located in Vahdat, Tajikistan.