23 dead in Uzbek 'terrorist' clash
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- At least 23 people have been killed as police clashed with suspected terrorists during a third straight day of violence in Uzbekistan, the Interior Ministry said.
Tuesday's violence brings the death toll this week to at least 42, as the former Soviet republic experiences its worst unrest since becoming a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war on terror.
Twenty terrorists and three police were killed and another five police were wounded during a sweep to round up Islamic militants, the ministry said, according to The Associated Press.
In a statement read on state-run TV, the ministry said operations began at 7:20 a.m. (0220 GMT), AP reported.
In the process of trying to capture the suspects, they blew themselves up with homemade explosive devices, the statement said.
The statement did not say how long the operation lasted, but witnesses indicated it ended after several hours, AP said.
Earlier, news agencies quoted an unidentified Interior Ministry official as saying 16 terrorist suspects and three police officers were killed in a siege at an apartment building in the capital Tashkent.
The siege took place in the Yalangach neighborhood near the president's residence, AP reported.
AP quoted a National Security Service officer as saying the three police officers were killed nearby after they stopped a small car and two alleged terrorists jumped out and detonated explosive-laden belts, killing themselves as well.
Security was tight across the city, with soldiers on patrol and hotels deploying metal detectors and not allowing vehicles to approach, AP reported. Soldiers with dogs patrolled the airport, but flights continued.
Svetlana Atikova, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor-general's office, said there were several security operations under way in Tashkent Tuesday.
Tuesday's incidents follow a spasm of violence in Uzbekistan including two suicide bombings in as many days, as well as attacks on police and a blast at a bomb-making hideout.
Before Tuesday, at least 19 people had been killed and 26 wounded in the violence in Tashkent and the city of Bukhara.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov has blamed the attacks on Islamic extremists and said arrests have been made.
Security has been stepped up with extra patrols an increased presence of soldiers and police.
Prosecutor-general Rashid Kadyrov said events began late Sunday with a blast that killed 10 people at a house being used by an extremist in the central province of Bukhara.
Six policemen and a child were killed in suicide bombings and attempted suicide attacks in the capital Tashkent on Sunday night and Monday, Kadyrov said.
The suicide bombings were the first ever in Uzbekistan, he added.
Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev said the attacks were aimed at breaking the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition.
"This has been committed by the hands of international terror," Safayev said. "That's the hallmark of the terrorist acts we have already witnessed abroad.
"Attempts are being made to split the international anti-terror coalition."
Uzbekistan has been a strong supporter of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, providing a vital airbase for U.S. troops in military operations there following the September 11, 2001, attacks on America.
Officials said at least 23 people were killed as police clashed with suspected terrorists during a third day of violence in Uzbekistan.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
