Islamic State Strikes Tajikistan Outpost

ISIS militants targeted a checkpoint along the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border. (Flickr)

Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry has blamed the Islamic State (ISIS) for a November 6 attack that left 17 dead at a Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border checkpoint, the New York Times reports. Among the casualties were a Tajik border guard and an Interior Ministry official, in addition to fifteen alleged ISIS militants.

ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the recent attack, though Tajik officials alleged its involvement after interrogating the surviving attackers. “These attackers are probably our own citizens,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Umarjon Emomali.

Following the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, New York Times analysts speculate that Central Asia is becoming a staging ground for terrorist cells and crime. Al Jazeera estimates that the illicit drug trade accounts for one-third of the nation’s economy.

Central Asia’s neighbors, such as China and Russia, have doubled down on combating crime and terrorism in recent months. The Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have both convened this month. China hopes that a more stable Tajikistan-Afghanistan border will prevent terrorists from entering China through Tajikistan—a border Russia calls the “CIS southern border” and thus monitors with great care. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the most recent attack’s perpetrators entered Tajikistan through Afghanistan on November 3.

As Central Asia continues to attract foreign investment, its global trade partners will tread carefully in unstable border regions. Furthermore, any Central Asian country that fails to secure its border will fall behind in region-wide integration and become less attractive to foreign investors. ISIS still poses a major threat to Central Asia’s prosperity, but competitive international trade has incentivized regime leaders to combat terrorism more than ever.