DUSHANBE. June 14 (Interfax) - The Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist organization, banned in Russia, has claimed responsibility for masterminding a May 19 riot in a prison in the Tajik city of Vahdat in which 32 people, among them 29 inmates and three prison guards, were killed, Tajik media said.
ISIL, however, did not provide any evidence of its involvement in the riot.
According to earlier reports, a riot broke out in Penitentiary 3/2 in Tajikistan's Vahdat early on May 19. Clashes erupted between inmates and guards. The Tajik Justice Ministry said at the time that 30 dangerous offenders, among them ISIL members, armed with knives and other sharp items, took three guards hostage and then killed them, trying to escape.
According to the prison's press service, 24 inmates were killed during an operation to suppress the riot and another five were killed by the rioters. The Tajik Interior Ministry said that 17 ISIL members were among those killed during the operation to put down the riot.
An investigative group, made up of representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Interior Ministry and the National Security Committee, is currently working in the Vahdat prison. According to the Asia Plus online newspaper's source, this case has been classified.