New Delhi

Islamic State terror group launched a major recruitment drive last year to deploy militants based out of Central Asian countries including Tajikistan, western and other intelligence services said. Three of the four suspected terrorists arrested by the Russian security forces for the attack at a Moscow concert hall — the worst terror attack in Russia in decades — are reportedly Tajik nationals.

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One of the three is even heard speaking Tajik during the interrogation of four alleged attackers detained by the Russian security forces. 

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack in Moscow, which killed about 140 people and described it as "a powerful blow against Russia". The group also posted footage that appears to be taken by attackers as they opened fire on concertgoers in Moscow last week.

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According to the intelligence shared with the United Nations, over the last 12 months, the Islamic State offshoot based out of Afghanistan, the Islamic State (Khorasan) recruited top militants from Jamaat Ansarullah, a Tajikistan extremist Islamist group, as well as others in central Asia. 

Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) also set up a Telegram channel and used multiple other social media platforms to broadcast propaganda aimed at recruiting Tajiks and other central Asian ethnicities in the region.

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The report, submitted to the UN Security Council in January, reported a "high concentration of terrorist groups in Afghanistan" and said that "notwithstanding a decrease in the number of attacks perpetrated by Isil-K [ISKP] and its recent loss of territory, casualties and high attrition among senior and mid-tier leadership figures … the group [is seen] as the greatest threat within Afghanistan, with the ability to project a threat into the region and beyond".

It added that the group "adopted a more inclusive recruitment strategy, including by focusing on attracting disillusioned Taliban and foreign fighters".

(With inputs from agencies)