Tajik security agency nabs 15 amid terrorism suspicions during Dushanbe festivities

Officers from the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) in Tajikistan have apprehended 15 individuals suspected of planning terrorist attacks during celebratory occasions in Dushanbe and Vahdat, according to a report from TASS, referencing the Asia Plus news portal.

The report further indicates uncertainty regarding any connection between the 15 detainees and the suspects involved in the terrorist incident at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.

Quoting a source from the SCNS, the portal states, "the investigation will determine the relationship between the detainees and the suspects. It remains unclear whether they were part of the same network and collaborated, or if each individual intended to carry out separate terrorist acts in Russia and Tajikistan. These questions remain unanswered as the investigation continues."

Prior to this development, Reuters, relying on information from Tajikistan's law enforcement agencies, disclosed the detention of nine individuals suspected of ties to the suspects involved in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack and the Islamic State in Khorasan, an offshoot of the Islamic State terrorist organization.

The agency notes that these individuals were also apprehended in Vahdat and subsequently transported to Dushanbe.