Tajikistan Prevented ISIL Attacks During Ramadan - Tajik Interior Ministry

A Tajik citizen, recruited by Islamic State through social media, planned to aid the militant group in carrying out several terrorist attacks across Tajikistan during the holy month of Ramadan, according to a statement by the Tajik Interior Ministry published Friday.

DUSHANBE (Sputnik) — The suspect, later identified as Bobojon Rajabali, confessed to planning to detonate bombs in a dozen police stations with the help of an accomplice during Ramadan, which ended last week.

"One day we planned to make three explosions in Kulob, three in Dushanbe, three in Faizobod and three in Garm," Rajabali said in the course of an interrogation.

The IS recruit joined the militant group through a social networking site and promised to execute the orders of a fellow Tajik citizen he became acquainted with through correspondence, who is currently a member of the terrorist group, according to the ministry.

IS is a jihadist group notorious for its many human rights atrocities, including kidnapping and murder. In 2014, it seized large areas in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a caliphate. IS-affiliated groups are active in North Africa, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

IS has been reported to have recruited thousands of Westerners into its ranks. The group targets mainly young people through propaganda on social media.