Police in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, have detained a group of alleged members of a banned Islamic group, Uzbek authorities say.
The Uzbek Interior Ministry said on October 29 that 16 suspected members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization have been apprehended.
According to the statement, the men became followers of the banned organization while abroad and promoted Hizb ut-Tahrir among their relatives.
Authorities in Central Asian countries says Hizb ut-Tahrir plays a role in a strategy used by Al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants to radicalize young people and recruit them to fight in Syria and Iraq.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, a London-based Sunni political organization, seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned across Central Asia and Russia, says its movement is peaceful.