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U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 - Uzbekistan

The potential for Islamic extremism and acts of international terrorism remained significant in Uzbekistan. Supporters of terrorist groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), al-Qaida, the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) remained active in the region. Members of these groups expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and have attacked U.S. interests in the past, including a 2004 suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.

Information continued to suggest that some of these groups might be planning attacks in the region, possibly against U.S. Government facilities, Americans, or American interests. As a result, the Department of State authorized in June the departure of American Embassy Tashkent's non-emergency personnel and family members. The departure status was lifted in July, but U.S. Government personnel and facilities continued to operate at a heightened state of alert.

Uzbekistan was among the first states to support U.S. efforts in the global war on terror. Beginning in 2001, Uzbekistan hosted U.S. military forces within its borders. In July, however, the government formally invoked its right to request termination within 180 days of an agreement allowing U.S. access to the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) airbase and overflight of Uzbekistan. Uzbek authorities continued to stress the importance of the country's counterterrorism cooperation and said the decision to end access at K2 did not signal Uzbekistan's withdrawal from international counterterrorism efforts. As of December, Uzbekistan continued to permit U.S. overflight of its territory in support of ongoing operations in Afghanistan. The United States fully vacated the Karshi-Khanabad base on November 21.

Tashkent hosts the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) Regional Antiterrorism Center Secretariat (RATS), which remained in the early stages of development. It began to focus on operational activities, such as developing a coordinated list of terrorist groups and facilitating joint counterterrorism exercises among SCO member states. Uzbekistan also participated in UNODC and OSCE programs aimed at ensuring that it enacts appropriate terrorism legislation.

Topics: Terrorism,