Seven young women aged from 20 to 25, members of the outlawed Hizb ut-Tahrir extremist religious party, have been detained in Kyrgyzstan's southwestern Jalal-Abad region, a spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's interior ministry told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.
The extremist female group was exposed in an anti-terrorist and anti-extremist operation conducted by security services in the Jalal-Abad region. "As a result of the operation, seven activists of the Hizb ut-Tahrir female wing, who engaged in recruiting activities in the territory of the region, were detained," the spokesman said.
"Security officers neutralized several extremist groups and seized a big number of extremist materials."
The detained women, residents of the Nookensky district of the Jalal-Abad region, "engaged in extremist activities. Judging by the materials seized from them, they were regular users of internet resources," the spokesman said, adding that law enforcement agencies were to open a criminal case.
The Hizb ut-Tahrir party is outlawed not only in Kyrgyzstan but also in almost all Central Asian states. Extremists proclaimed it their goal to topple the existing secular governments to create a new state in the territory of the Fergana Valley - an Islamic caliphate. Years ago radical groups were active only in southern regions of Kyrgyzstan but in the recent years they have become more active in northern regions too.