Big Security Sweep After Attack in Tashkent Region; No Casualties

Authorities in Uzbekistan are searching for suspects who opened fire on a vehicle in the Tashkent region early Saturday, the prosecutor general’s office said. The office did not immediately confirm some Uzbek media reports that Komil Allamjonov, former chief of the presidential information department, may have been in the vehicle. There were no injuries in the attack, which occurred around 1:40 a.m. while a person identified only as “citizen S.S.” was driving a Range Rover in Qibray district, according to a statement of the prosecutor general’s office. It said “two unidentified individuals fired multiple shots at the vehicle from a firearm and then fled the scene.” The type of weapon used in the attack has not been determined, the statement said. An attempted murder case was opened and a search is underway. “Currently, a rapid investigation group consisting of qualified officers from relevant agencies has been formed, and investigative actions are ongoing,” the prosecutor general’s office said. Gazeta.uz, an Uzbek media outlet, said a large group of law enforcement officials converged on the area where the shooting occurred. It quoted an unidentified person as saying police were asking for video recordings from nearby surveillance cameras. Allamjonov had worked as head of the presidential press service and held other posts prior to becoming chief of the presidency’s Information Policy Department in August 2023. Saida Mirziyoyeva, daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a senior presidential aide, thanked Allamjonov when he left that job in September this year. Allamjonov said he would go into the private sector.