On February 15, at a press conference in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ramazon Rahimzoda reported that the explosion of the service vehicle of the head of the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan in Kulob, Salim Sayvalizoda, which occurred on January 5 of this year, is considered a “terrorist act.”
The Minister of Internal Affairs stated that suspects have been detained in connection with this incident, but did not provide an exact number of those detained. According to some reports, the case involves individuals from the Khatlon region, including relatives of those recruited by “ISIS-Khorasan” in Afghanistan.
Radio Ozodi noted that the acting prosecutor for the Kulob group of districts, Hamzaali Muzofirov, confirmed on January 30 that all detainees are natives of Kulob and the Khatlon region, and that “following this incident, the leadership of law enforcement and security agencies in the Khatlon region was dissolved.”