Banned Kyrgyz Islamic Group Members Detained

Five alleged members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization have been arrested in Kyrgyzstan's southern city of Jalal-Abad.

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said the suspects were detained late on February 19.

The UKMK's statement on February 20 also says that security forces confiscated a large amount of books and leaflets with extremist content from the suspects' houses, as well as equipment for printing leaflets.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a London-based Sunni political organization that seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate.

The Kyrgyz government and a number of other CIS countries have banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, branding its supporters as "extremists."

Since last summer, several alleged members of the banned organization have been arrested in towns across Kyrgyzstan.