Kyrgyz Officials Claim Children Illegally Sent To Foreign Madrasahs

Officials say the Bishkek central city mosque (pictured) and the banned Tabligi Jamaat movement were also involved in sending abroad several boys aged between 10 and 15.

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz security officials have publicly accused the country's highest religious authority, the Muftiyat, of illegally sending several Kyrgyz children to religious schools in Bangladesh.

The National Security Committee said the Bishkek central city mosque and the banned Tabligi Jamaat movement were also involved in sending abroad several boys aged between 10 and 15, all allegedly from the northern province of Naryn.

The Muftiyat and the mosque have not yet publicly commented on the claim.

Naryn Province officials confirmed that several boys from the region are indeed missing since last year, but they said it wasn't known whether the missing children have ended up in Bangladesh.

Security officials say they have launched a probe into the matter, and declined to give further details.