Islamic Group Takes Credit for Uzbek Clashes

A previously unknown Islamic group claimed responsibility Sunday for recent violence targeting police that killed at least 47 people in Uzbekistan, mostly alleged militants.

A statement posted on militant Islamic websites from an organization calling itself the Jihad Islamic Group said the unrest that began March 28 was retaliation for the secular Uzbek regime’s oppressive policies. It was the first publicized claim of responsibility for the attacks.

“The Jihad Islamic Group is responsible for all the jihad operations that took place and are still going on in the Islamic state of Uzbekistan,” the statement said. “These operations came as a response to the injustice and brutality practiced by the infidel leaders in this country.”

Uzbekistan has long been internationally criticized for its record on human rights and a crackdown on Muslims who worship outside state-affiliated mosques in a government bid to stem extremism. Thousands have been jailed since the 1990s in the country, whose legal system is plagued by allegations of torture and lack of due process.

The statement from the new group said Muslims were “tortured and imprisoned as a way to terrorize and degrade them.”

Uzbek officials say at least 47 people, including 33 alleged terrorists and 10 police officers, died in four days of explosions, suicide attacks and assaults on authorities.