Tajik police retaliate after deadly attacks

Police in Tajikistan said Saturday they were closing in on a renegade minister accused of ordering "terrorist" attacks around the capital, Dushanbe.

Abduhalim Nazarzoda, who was relieved of his duties on Friday, is believed to have fled to the mountains northeast of the city following the two assaults.

Authorities claim he is a member of the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), which the government shut down last week.

The Interior Ministry announced that 13 militants were killed on Saturday and dozens more were arrested after security forces pursued the insurgents to Ramit Gorge, around 150 kilometers (95 miles) from the capital. An extra 150 troops have been deployed to the area.

Attacks 'may be precursor' to further violence

Nine police officers and 13 rebels were killed in Friday's clashes, which included an assault on the Interior and Defense Ministry buildings. A large number of weapons and ammunition were seized, the ministry added.

The US embassy was closed following the incidents, and warned that the attacks "may be a precursor to other acts of violence."

The IRPT has denied that Nazarzoda is one of its members. His brother Mirzohayot Nazarov voluntarily surrendered himself to police on Saturday, reported Radio Free Europe. The party's leader, Muhiddin Kabiri, fled abroad in June claiming he was about to be arrested on trumped-up charges.

Tajikistan has remained volatile since a 1992-1997 civil war between the Moscow-backed government and Islamist insurgents.

mm/cmk (AFP, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)