U.S. reissues travel advisory for Uzbekistan
Reuters
November 4The United States on Thursday issued its second travel advisory for Uzbekistan in three months, warning U.S. citizens of the potential for terrorist attacks in the Central Asian state.
"The United States government has received information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks against U.S. interest in Uzbekistan in the near future," the U.S. State Department said.
The statement did not elaborate but said that supporters of militant groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and al Qaeda were active in the region.
"These groups have expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and may also attempt to target U.S. government or private interests in Uzbekistan," the statement said.
The alert urged Americans traveling in Uzbekistan to avoid large crowds, celebrations and places where Westerners generally gather.
In an advisory in August, the State Department said it had information that terrorists might have planned new attacks around Uzbek Independence Day in early September.
That warning came after a series of suicide bombings in the summer and spring, including outside the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan has given Washington the use of a military air base to support operations in Afghanistan and is treated as an ally in the war on terror by the United States.
President Islam Karimov says he is fighting extremists who want to overthrow a secular government, but human rights groups and Western diplomats say poverty and the mass jailing of dissident Muslims are radicalizing young men and women.