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Noteworthy, the explosions have coincided with the ongoing trial over the accused of terrorist acts in Tashkent and Bukhara four months ago. The explosions on March 28 and April 1 resulted in the death of 47 people, including 33 performers (15 suicides), ten policemen and four passers-by. Among those involved in this outrage are different groups, such as the terrorist Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a certain Zhamoat aiming allegedly at the overthrow of President Islam Karimov and Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party). The latter denies its complicity in the act of terrorism. All the defendants have already pleaded guilty and some of them have come up with sensational testimony. They claim that the blasts in Tashkent and Bukhara were masterminded by the Taliban movement's spiritual leader Mullah Omar, and that they were trained at special bases in the south of Kazakhstan, the statement having also been made by the state prosecutor at the trial. This has to be proved yet, but the coincidence (of this most recent attack) adds up to the defendants' guilt, said Alexei Malashenko, a member of the Moscow Carnegie Center's research council. Last March, he said, many experts presumed that the acts of terrorism in Uzbekistan were either in-fighting by the mob, or provocation on the part of the authorities who decided to punish the terrorists. He excludes this possibility this time, but notes that these acts of terrorism may play into the hands of Islam Karimov and at the same time be a warning to him by international terrorism. The matter is that relations between Tashkent and Washington have recently been aggravated. The situation today is different from 2003 when the U.S. admitted certain progress in the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. Mr. Karimov wants to improve relationships with Washington and therefore even considers the prospect of shipping troops to Iraq, according to Mr. Malashenko. This idea could be further developed in light of recent discussions about the shipment of a Moslem military contingent to Iraq. Alexei Malashenko does not rule out therefore the possibility of the terrorists' warning Islam Karimov. It is not by chance that the explosions were set at the American and Israeli embassies while the Russian embassy which is located not far from the Israeli one remained unaffected. Mr. Malashenko does not think the outrage in Tashkent can have any direct impact on Russia. He adds however that international terrorism has no frontiers today, and the world community should unite to deal away with this challenge. Russia sees its task in the cohesion of the ranks of the anti-terrorist coalition. Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma committee on international affairs, said that Russia should offer emergency aid to Uzbekistan. More information on the terrorist attacks on U.S. and Israeli embassies: **
Series
of Terrorist Attacks Committed in Uzbek Capital Series of Terrorist Attacks Committed in Uzbek Capital
TASHKENT (RIA Novosti) - A series of terrorist attacks were committed in Tashkent. On Friday, suicide terrorists blew themselves up at the buildings of the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and the republican General Prosecutor's Office. The explosion near Uzbekistan's General Prosecutor's Office was committed by a suicide terrorist, said a policeman standing in the cordon around the prosecutor's office. According to him, the explosion occurred on the stairs near the entrance, there are injured persons and the building's foyer was damaged. "The windows were broken out and glass fragments injured several persons, including a security policeman", said the source. Reuters referring to the republic's Interior Ministry reports five wounded. The explosion at the Israeli Embassy killed two Uzbek citizens, one of them being a security guard, reports AP. The Radio of Israel reports that there were no Israeli citizens among the victims. The explosion at the U.S. Embassy was also committed by a suicide terrorist, says France Press. No Americans got injured, says CNN referring to an anonymous source in the U.S. Department of State. According to him, the explosion occurred in the vicinity of the embassy. The Department of State's press service told RIA Novosti that they knew about the explosion and were finding out the circumstances. The press service promises to report details "as soon as possible". Uzbekistan's police enhanced security measures around the Russian Embassy in Tashkent, Alexander Stepanov, press attache of the Russian Embassy, told RIA Novosti on the phone. "The Russian Embassy is situated at approximately equal distance of two or three kilometers from the three explosion points", said Mr. Stepanov. According to him, the Russian consul went to the crime scenes to find out details of the incidents. This week Uzbekistan's Supreme Court launched open proceedings against a group of persons accused of organizing and committing a series of terrorist attacks this spring. In late March - early April a number of explosions in the Bukhara and Tashkent regions and in Tashkent killed 28 persons leaving about 50 wounded. During detention 16 terrorists were killed in exchange of fire and 15 blew themselves up by means of self-made explosive devices. Fifteen persons, including two women, were brought to trial. The oldest is about 30, the rest are between 20 and 25. The prisoners are accused under 17 Articles of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code, including terrorism, attempted violent overthrow of the constitutional system in Uzbekistan and religious extremism. Twin Suicide Bombings in Uzbekistan
No one was injured in the United States explosion, which was detonated outside the compound. The United States embassy was believed targeted due to Uzbekistan's support for the war in Iraq, allowing US troops to set up a base in the country. A radical Islamic Uzbek group claimed responsibility hours later on it's website. Israeli Foreign Ministry sources said there had been no specific warnings issued for the Tashkent embassy, but there has been speculation Palestinians would try to attack outside of Israel proper because the security fence has made it more difficult to carry out attacks inside the country. Israeli ambassador Zvi Cohen and three other Israeli officials were inside the building when the explosions occurred. "The world is confronted with a wave of terrorism," said Avi Pozner, Israeli government spokesman in an interview with Reuters. "There is an absolute need to unite all efforts to combat this scourge." Numerous attacks on Israeli missions have been carried out around the world during the past thirty-five years, including a 1992 bombing in Buenos Aires in which twenty eight people were killed and wounding at least 300. Tashkent is home to two million people in this Central Asian country of twenty-six million, most of whom are nominally Muslim. Most of Uzbekistan's Jewish population emigrated to Israel following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but over thirty thousand remain. |
