BISHKEK. Oct 19 (Interfax-AVN) - International terrorists jointly with religious extremists and drug dealers aim to establish an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia, the chairman of the Kyrgyz Security Service, Bolot Dzhanuzakov, said at an international conference on Friday.
The conference, entitled "Strategy for Fighting Terrorism: Political and Legal Mechanisms," was organized by the OSCE Center in Bishkek, the International Israeli Center for Sociopolitical Research, and the Association of Kyrgyzstan's Non-Governmental Organizations.
The conference will coordinate the anti-extremist efforts of civilians, government structures, non-governmental research organizations and religious groups.
The Islamic extremist group Khizb-ut-Takhrir and the Uzbek Islamic Movement backed by the Taliban and Osama bin Laden will resort to "all possible means" to destabilize the situation in Central Asia. They focus on "sabotage, terrorist attacks and ideological propaganda among the population," Dzhanuzakov said. Extremists and terrorists fuel inter-ethnic and inter-religious animosity, he added.
A total of 150 drug-processing facilities are operating in Afghanistan, he continued. Of these, 130 are located in well-guarded bunkers. Around 4,000 tons of drugs are processed in these facilities annually, he noted.