Four tourists killed, three more injured by car in possible terrorist act in Tajikstan

A hit-and-run driver has killed four foreign cyclists in Tajikistan in what may have been a terrorist act, the Central Asian country's Interior Minister has said. The victims, two Americans, a Swiss and Dutch citizen, were struck by a car and attacked on Sunday while on a popular cycle route in the Danghara district, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Dushanbe. “(The suspects) had knives and firearms,” minister Ramazon Hamro Rahimzoda said of the attack yesterday that left tourists from the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands dead and two others injured. "One tourist received a knife wound and is being given medical assistance. The victim's condition is stable,' said Rahimzoda, without mentioning their nationality. Another was being treated in hospital, while the French citizen survived without injury and was being questioned by the police, he added. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, said four suspects were killed and one taken into custody on Monday, and then four more people taken into custody for suspected links on Tuesday, according to Reuters. ‘Can’t say if act of terror’

“We are considering all possibilities,” Rahimzoda said of the criminal investigation at the Monday press conference. "We are considering all possibilities," he added but said that "state institutions are being guarded... to provide safety for citizens and tourists". The department said it could not provide more information about the U.S. citizens due to "privacy concerns," but that U.S. officials were working closely with Tajik authorities. Getty

Earlier on Tuesday, citing what it said was the confession of a detained suspect, Tajikistan's interior ministry said the Sunday attack leader was trained in Iran and that the group had planned to flee to Afghanistan after the attack, according to the Reuters news agency. Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon sent notes of condolence to the US, Switzerland and the Netherlands over the deaths and called for increased security throughout the country at a special meeting on Monday with the country's law enforcement chiefs. Tajikistan is the poorest of the ex-Soviet republics and has been ruled by the iron hand of Rakhmon, 65, since 1992.
ISIL claims responsibility for an attack in Tajikistan that occurred two days prior and left four cycling tourists dead.