Counter-Terrorism - The Times Of Central Asia

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Extremism

Kazakhstan Detains Ten Over Alleged Plot to Change Constitutional Order

Kazakhstan's security service has detained ten people in the western city of Atyrau over an alleged plan to change the constitutional order by force. Investigators also say the suspects operated three underground educational centers for children and teenagers. The National Security Committee (KNB) announced on November 2 that the arrests took place on October 30. The operation was coordinated with the prosecutor's office, and all ten suspects were detained simultaneously. Investigators suspect the detainees of creating, leading, or participating in an extremist group. The allegations also include promoting terrorism and inciting religious discord. According to the KNB, the group sought to “forcibly change the foundations of the constitutional order” in western Kazakhstan. The authorities have not identified the group or disclosed a specific plan of attack. Officers searched the suspects' homes and seized firearms, drugs, religious items, literature, and other materials, the committee said. It released images and video from the operation, showing armed officers taking suspects into custody. The three educational centers are a notable element of the investigation. The KNB said the suspected group established the facilities for children and teenagers and that officers had stopped their activities. The committee gave no attendance figures or details of what the children were being taught. It also said several suspects had previously been convicted of terrorism-related or other criminal offenses. In its announcement, the KNB cited Article 201 of Kazakhstan's Criminal Procedure Code, which restricts the release of information during a pretrial investigation. The suspects' identities have not been released. Earlier Extremism Investigations The Atyrau case follows a series of security operations involving alleged extremist propaganda and recruitment across Kazakhstan. The authorities have increased investigations into the distribution of extremist material, including through social media. In a June 12 statement, the KNB reported eleven arrests during April and May, including operations in the Atyrau region. The detainees included two foreign nationals and three Kazakh citizens extradited from abroad. Investigators in those cases alleged the distribution of extremist materials online and among acquaintances. They also cited calls to travel to areas of terrorist activity and use violence against people who held different beliefs. The same report listed 13 prison sentences in terrorism and extremism cases. An Astana resident received eight years for urging travel to areas of terrorist activity. In another case, a Shymkent man was sentenced to seven years after advocating for a theocratic state and spreading terrorist ideas. A subsequent KNB update reported that 19 people were convicted of terrorism and extremism offenses between June and August. Another 28 were detained on suspicion of related offenses over the same period. The KNB has repeatedly carried out raids in Atyrau and other regions. In February 2024, it conducted 49 searches across several regions and detained 23 suspects, according to a TCA analysis of the government's intensifying campaign against extremism. That reporting also examined expanded powers for the committee to monitor online activity. The authorities have not announced formal indictments or court dates, and the allegations against the ten detainees remain...

Regional Security

China Seeks Closer Intelligence Cooperation with Tajikistan

China has called for closer intelligence cooperation with Tajikistan and stronger protection for Chinese citizens and businesses. Premier Li Qiang raised both issues during October 19 talks with President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe, following attacks that disrupted Chinese projects near the Afghan border. According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Li urged the two countries to “strengthen intelligence exchange and sharing” and deepen law enforcement cooperation. He also called for “strong measures” to protect Chinese nationals and enterprises in Tajikistan. Li placed those requests alongside proposals for closer economic ties, including cooperation in infrastructure and minerals. The Chinese account did not announce a new intelligence-sharing agreement or explain how the proposed cooperation would operate. Security concerns have already affected work on a major road connecting Tajikistan with China. Chinese specialists returned under armed protection to the Kalai-Khumb–Vanj section of the Dushanbe–Kulma highway earlier this year after construction stopped following the November 2025 killings. Tajikistan’s Transport Ministry said the specialists returned in April. Radio Ozodi subsequently described Tajik special forces guarding Chinese workers in Darvaz in late May. The project is funded by a $230 million Chinese grant and is being carried out by China Road and Bridge Corporation. The road runs through difficult mountain terrain toward the Kulma Pass on the Chinese frontier. Its reconstruction is intended to shorten journeys and improve year-round access. For workers on sections close to the Afghan border, however, returning to construction also required protection from armed attacks. On November 26, 2025, an assault on a company camp in Tajikistan’s Khatlon region killed three Chinese workers. Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said the attack came from Afghanistan and involved a drone carrying explosives. Four days later, gunmen targeted China Road and Bridge Corporation employees in Darvaz district. Two Chinese nationals were killed. Tajik border officials said the perpetrators came from Afghanistan, but did not publicly identify the organization responsible. Beijing subsequently pressed Dushanbe to protect its citizens. Rahmon convened senior security officials and ordered measures to prevent further attacks. Taliban officials announced two arrests in December 2025 in connection with the killings, but did not publicly identify the suspects. China’s economic connections with Tajikistan have continued to expand. On October 17, state-owned Tajiktelecom and China Mobile International launched a direct fiber-optic link through the Pamirs. The connection has an initial capacity of up to one terabit per second and provides an additional route to international communications networks. The Tajik section extends for 1,010 kilometers, including 435 kilometers through Gorno-Badakhshan, joining China’s network at the Kulma Pass. Together with the highway, the cable illustrates the importance of eastern Tajikistan to the countries’ cross-border infrastructure. For Tajikistan, the immediate issue is protecting the people building and operating these connections. Li’s request brings the protection of those workers into discussions about closer intelligence cooperation at the highest level.

Regional Security

Central Asia’s Afghan Engagement Faces Persistent Security Risks

Central Asian countries are expanding their trade with Kabul despite concerns about armed groups operating from Afghanistan. Russia has renewed warnings about militants seeking to infiltrate the region and is advocating cooperation with the Taliban authorities to contain them. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are interested in trade, energy, and transport projects connecting the region with South Asia. Tajikistan has traditionally taken a more critical position toward the Taliban and places particular emphasis on securing its lengthy border with Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Russia and China are seeking guarantees from the Afghan authorities against the activities of armed organizations that threaten their security. Speaking on October 16 at a joint conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said extremist organizations maintained a significant presence in Afghan provinces bordering Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. According to Lavrov, militants intend to use Afghan territory to expand their activities into Central Asia and Russia. Lavrov identified Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist organization, also known as ISIS-K, as the main threat, citing Russian security agencies. The group opposes the Taliban, carries out attacks in Afghanistan, and has struck beyond its borders. The name Khorasan refers to a historical region encompassing parts of present-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. ISIS-K’s reach extends beyond Afghanistan’s border regions through propaganda, recruitment, and cross-border networks. As The Times of Central Asia previously reported, people from Central Asia have been implicated in ISIS-K activities beyond the region itself, including within migrant communities. Lavrov claimed that militants in northern Afghanistan included ethnic Uyghurs, alongside fighters from Central Asia and the North Caucasus. His reference to Uyghurs echoes Beijing’s security concerns over Xinjiang, where China has used counterterrorism policies to justify sweeping repression. A 2022 UN assessment found that arbitrary detention and restrictions on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups could constitute crimes against humanity. The TASS report provided no evidence supporting his claims about the fighters’ origins. Lavrov also called for joint action against weapons and drug trafficking through Central Asia. The Taliban as a Security Partner Lavrov urged engagement with the Taliban authorities, who returned to power during the U.S. military withdrawal in August 2021. Russia formally recognized their government in July 2025. Moscow argues that the Taliban’s control of Afghan territory makes them responsible for security within the country, and is seeking international support for Kabul’s efforts to improve regional security. While relying on the Taliban to contain armed groups, Moscow is simultaneously questioning their ability to do so. ISIS-K has attacked Taliban officials, giving Kabul a direct reason to confront the organization. That conflict, however, offers no assurance that the Taliban will act against other armed groups operating in Afghanistan. China also favors working with Kabul on security, with concerns extending to the safety of Chinese nationals and regional trade routes. Two attacks launched from Afghan territory killed five Chinese nationals...

Counter-Terrorism

Uzbek-U.S. Citizen Extradited from Georgia on Charges of Supporting ISIS and al-Nusrah Front

Davud Ansariy, an Uzbek citizen who is also a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been extradited from Georgia to New York. U.S. prosecutors accuse him of leading a network that raised money to support ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front and helped aspiring fighters travel to Syria. Ansariy, 41, also known as Kozimjon Gafurov and Kozim, was arrested in Tbilisi in August 2026 and extradited to the United States on September 23. He faces one count of conspiracy to provide material support and one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, both designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations at the time of the alleged conduct. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in prison. The alleged conduct dates back more than a decade. According to prosecutors, Ansariy led a group based primarily in Brooklyn whose members either planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front or helped finance such trips. Participants referred to the group as “chayxona,” an Uzbek word meaning “tea house” or “tea party.” Prosecutors allege that money collected through the network was used to pay for the travel of aspiring fighters to Syria and to support families left behind by those who traveled there, as well as the families of those killed while fighting. According to prosecutors, these collections helped finance the travel of at least three people to Syria in 2013. All three are believed to have been killed there. Investigators also link the network to Akhror Saidakhmetov, who was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 25, 2015, while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul. According to court filings, the “chayxona” collections raised money for Saidakhmetov’s planned journey. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ansariy left the United States for Turkey in May 2016, buying a one-way ticket the day before his departure. He left five days after one of his alleged co-conspirators was arrested on May 11 and did not return to the United States until his extradition this month. A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted Ansariy in November 2021. Georgian authorities arrested him after he traveled from Uzbekistan to Tbilisi in August 2026. Ansariy pleaded not guilty on September 24 and was held without bail, the New York Post reported.

CSTO

For the CSTO, Afghanistan Might Be the Last Credible Threat

The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization is conducting its “Rubezh (Frontier) 2026” military exercises from September 12-19. Those exercises are designed with Afghanistan in mind, a country that the CSTO has been talking about frequently in 2026, and also one where militant groups pose a shared threat to its members. And even the Taliban are no longer viewed as the threat they once were. Frontier 2026 The Frontier 2026 exercises are taking place at the Koktal training ground in southeastern Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu Province. The CSTO’s Rapid Deployment Force is practicing to repel cross-border incursions in mountain and desert terrain. The exercises come this time as concerns about infiltration by militants in Afghanistan into CIS territory are increasing. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on September 8 that Russia is paying special attention to strengthening Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan. The Tajik authorities have been calling for additional aid for the country’s border forces since a series of attacks from Afghanistan in November 2025 left five Chinese workers in southern Tajikistan dead, followed by an attack in December that killed two Tajik border guards. Tajikistan has regularly asked for international help in guarding its frontier with Afghanistan since independence in 1991. But after the violence at the end of 2025, the Tajik government appealed especially to its fellow members in the CSTO for increased assistance. CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov said at the end of August that the first shipment of weapons and equipment would be sent to Tajikistan this autumn. Raison D’être The Collective Security Treaty was signed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1992 by representatives from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In 1993, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia joined. The purpose was simple. If any of the member states was attacked by an external enemy, that state could request aid, including military assistance, from the other members. In the early 1990s, there were potential enemies for the Treaty members in practically every direction. The Soviet Union had collapsed in late 1991. There were questions about how the former Communist Bloc countries and their new Western allies might act. The theocratic regime in Iran was a possible threat to the South Caucasus and Central Asia, and the latter region had unstable Afghanistan to worry about also. China was a concern for Central Asia and Russia. Back then, banding together made sense for the nine newly independent states that signed the treaty. When Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan dropped out in 1999, it appeared the Collective Security Treaty was on the brink of becoming irrelevant. After Vladimir Putin became Russia’s president, he put a new emphasis on a security bloc within the CIS, and in 2002, the remaining six treaty members signed a new charter. However, now, in 2026, the list of the CSTO’s potential external threats is greatly reduced. Far from being a security concern, China is now a leading trade partner for Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and provides military assistance to all four countries. Iran’s relations with the West remain...

Counter-Terrorism

Kyrgyzstan Says 31 Suspected KTJ and Islamic State Members Detained in Southern Operation

Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, said it detained 31 suspected members of Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad and Islamic State during an overnight counterterrorism operation in the southern Osh and Batken regions. The operation took place on the night of June 8-9. Authorities imposed a legal counterterrorist-operation regime in Osh, Kyzyl-Kiya, Kara-Suu district, and Uch-Korgon village in Kadamjay district. The GKNB said the suspects had planned attacks against law enforcement officers and religious figures. Security officers detained 11 people in Osh region and 20 in Batken region. During searches, officers seized religious extremist literature, electronic storage devices with extremist materials, four unregistered firearms, symbols of terrorist groups, and money that the GKNB said was intended to finance terrorist structures abroad. The GKNB said its chairman, Jumgalbek Shabdanbekov, directed the operation in real time from a situation center. Operational headquarters included staff from the Interior Ministry, Border Service, Defense Ministry, Emergency Situations Ministry, Health Ministry, presidential envoys in the regions, and Osh city officials. “The special operation was carried out in strict accordance with the law,” the GKNB said in a statement carried by local media. The committee said its Main Investigation Department was checking the detainees’ links, possible accomplices, and financing channels. The suspects were not named, and the GKNB statement did not give their ages, citizenship, or the legal articles under which the case is proceeding. The detainees were placed in the GKNB’s temporary detention facility. Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad appears on the UN Security Council’s ISIL and Al-Qaida sanctions list as Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, or KTJ. The UN added the group to the list on March 7, 2022, for its association with Al-Qaida-linked groups. The UN entry says KTJ was formerly known as Jannat Oshiklari and operated under Al-Nusrah Front in Syria. It also says the group had about 500 fighters. The UN entry says KTJ organized the 2016 attack on the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek. In that attack, a suspected suicide car bomber rammed the embassy gates, killing himself and wounding at least three other people, Reuters reported. Reuters later quoted the GKNB as saying, “The investigation established that the terrorist act was ordered by Uighur terrorist groups active in Syria.” U.S. sanctions records list Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. Kyrgyzstan’s official list of banned organizations includes Islamic State, Jannat Oshiklari, and Jamaat at-Tawhid wal-Jihad. Islamic State was declared a terrorist and extremist organization by Bishkek’s Oktyabr District Court on February 13, 2015, and the ruling entered into force on March 16, 2015, 24.kg reported. No convictions have been announced in the June 9 case. The case remains under investigation.