DUSHANBE -- Five Tajik police officers are under investigation for failing to arrest the accused ringleader of the July 29 "Islamic State" (IS)-claimed attack on foreign tourists, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Tajik service reported Thursday (August 9), according to a source close to that investigation.
The killers stabbed four tourists fatally and injured two others. IS took responsibility in a video for the tourists' deaths.
Police killed four suspects and arrested 11 others after the attack. Alleged mastermind Hussein Abdusamadov was among those detained.
The task force formed by the government to investigate the tourists' slayings learned that the five police officers had sought to arrest Abdusamadov in May after hearing he had returned from Russia, the source told RFE/RL. By then, authorities had become aware of his extremist leanings.
Upon failing to find him at home, the police officers stopped looking for him, enabling him to allegedly lead the deadly attack on the tourists July 29. Abdusamadov is a native of Panj District, Khatlon Province.
