Uzbekistan Detains 21 Suspected of Having Links to Syrian Militants

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Uzbek police have detained 21 people suspected of being linked to an extremist militant group operating in Syria, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the detained men were under the “ideological influence” of another Uzbek man who was a member of the Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad group comprised mostly of Central Asians.

They planned to finance the group and join it, police said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Thousands of people from the predominantly Muslim ex-Soviet region joined various militant groups in Syria and Iraq when Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) temporarily seized part of their territory.