Kazakh member of Syrian militant group arrested in Kyrgyzstan and testifies

A Kazakh citizen was arrested in the south of Kyrgyzstan who belonged to a group of militants fighting in Syria against government troops, writes Tengri News. 

The group belongs to an international terrorist organization called Islamic Jihad Union,  media department of Kyrgyz National Security Committee told Tengrinews.

It had been switched from Syria to Kyrgyzstan to prepare and commit terrorist acts.

The group included one citizen of Kazakhstan and two citizens of Kyrgyzstan who took part in military actions against the Syrian government as part of other terrorist movements.

The Foreign Ministry released a message revealing the name and origin of the group's member who had a Kazakh passport: “According to Kazakh embassy in Bishkek, the citizen of Kazakhstan is among the arrested: Sergey A. Leskevich, born in 1988 in Tokmak town of Chu oblast of Kyrgyzstan.”

During investigation of the criminal case against the group over terrorism, mercenary activities, illegal procurement, transfer, sale, keeping, transportation and possession of firearms, ammo, explosive substances and devices, Kyrgyz investigative authorities found that these militant groups were switched from Syria to Kyrgyzstan on an assignment from foreign ideologist and terrorist leaders to prepare and commit terrorist acts in Bishkek and Osh.

The Kazakh member of band testified after the arrest.

He gave names of two Kyrgyz members of the group - Sardor Rakhmonov and Mazhit Abdullayev. Both from Osh Oblast of Kyrgyzstan. They arrived to Kyrgyzstan via Russia.

He said he was trained in a field military camp in Syria together with his mates from Kyrgyzstan.

“First we were training in a military field camp in Syria. Then our mentors told us we should help our Muslim brothers in Kyrgyzstan, so we went to Osh. Based on our plans we were supposed to arrive in Almaty, kidnap my brother-in-law and get a ransom of 50,000 dollars. Then we were supposed to kill him to hide the crime. We were supposed to set 20,000 dollars to Turkey and from there our man would have taken the money to Uzbek Jamaat in Syria for Jihad. We were supposed to use the remaining 30,000 dollars to buy weapons, ammo and night-vision devices,” he said at interrogation.

According to the militant, after obtaining the weapons they were to lay low in Kyrgyzstan’s Osh awaiting further orders before they proceed with terrorist acts in Bishkek and Osh.

This is not the first case of a Kazakhstan citizen being involved in foreign terrorist groups.

Not long ago Site Intel Group uploaded a video showing a militant, allegedly. Kazakhstan-born, calling for jihad in Syria. The video was shot by an Iraqi division of Al-Qaeda known as the ISI (Islamic State of Iraq) or ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant).

The militant who made the call in the Kazakh language is named Abu Mu'adh al-Muhajir in the video, but his real name was not revealed.