DUSHANBE, September 23, 2010, Asia-Plus -- Five militants from the group of former opposition commanders Mirzokhouja Ahmadov, Mullo Abdullo and Alovuddin Davlatov were killed during a special operation in Rasht on September 22, Tajik national television reported Wednesday evening.

The names of the killed militants are not disclosed in the interest of investigation.  Besides, one supporter of Mirzokhouja Ahmadov was detained.  The fate of Mirzokhouja Ahmadov himself is unknown.

It was noted that Ahmadov had sheltered known opposition commander Mullo Abdullo at his home for a certain time and organized a training camp to teach youth how to carry out terrorist attacks.

A large amount of weapons -- six assault rifles Kalashnikov, three grenade launchers, three explosives wit capacity of 20 kilogram TNT each and 6,000 bullets -- was found his house.  The explosives were reportedly intended for terrorist acts in Dushanbe.

We will recall that in a telephone interview with Asia-Plus on September 21, Ahmadov said that he does not have weapons.  “I am Tajik and I recognize legitimate power.  I am now an ordinary farmer.  Besides, I do not have any weapon now.  All weapons I had I handed over to local law enforcement authorities in 2009 after a meeting with the president,” he stressed.

Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on September 22 that the Interior Ministry says that Ahmadov''s house was attacked by rockets and the fate of Ahmadov is unknown.

Sources inside the Rasht district told RFE/RL that after the attack on Ahmadov''s house another former opposition commander, Shoh Iskandarov, had reportedly joined the militants.

We will recall that a military convoy came under attack in Kamarob Gorge in Rasht district on September 19 and Tajik authorities blamed former opposition commanders Alovuddin Davlatov and Mullo Abdullo for the ambush that killed 25 government troops.  The Ministry of Defense said several foreign nationals, including militants from Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Pakistan, were among those who carried out the attack.  An intensive search operation to hunt down the attackers is going on in Rasht.

Mirzokhouja Ahmadov was a member of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) during the country''s civil war in the mid-1990s but was later appointed to a senior police post as part of a broader attempt at reintegrating former rebel leaders.  He served as chief of the Interior Ministry anti organized crime division for Rasht Valley until autumn 2008.  He was dismissed following the murder of the special police unit commander Oleg Zakharchenko in Gharm in February 2008.

The special police unit was attacked on February 2, 2008 after it was dispatched to the Rasht district headquarters of the regional state body empowered to combat organized crime. The police unit was reportedly seeking to arrest the head of the body, Mirzokhouja Ahmadov, but was fired upon by gunmen loyal to Ahmadov.  Oleg Zakharchenko was the only person killed, although several policemen sustained injuries in the shoot-out.  Ahmadov asserted that there were not his supporters that killed Zakharchenko.