BISHKEK -- Authorities in Kyrgyzstan have arrested a 21-year-old Kyrgyz man on charges that he joined so-called Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and returned to Kyrgyzstan with plans to carry out a series of terrorist attacks in the Central Asian country.
Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on June 24 that the suspect was arrested on June 10 as he tried to enter Kyrgyzstan.
On June 17, the UKMK announced that three other men who allegedly fought alongside IS militants in Syria had been arrested on June 10 in the southern region of Batken.
Authorities said those three suspects returned from Syria earlier in 2016 and also alleged were planning a series of terrorist attacks in Kyrgyzstan.
Bishkek says that a total of more than 500 Kyrgyz citizens have joined IS militants in Syria and Iraq.
