U.S. offers help with Uzbek terror
From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has offered assistance to the government in Uzbekistan in finding out who was responsible for this week's series of bombings, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.
Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke Tuesday with Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev, offering both U.S. condolences and assistance in the investigation, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"The minister expressed appreciation for the offer, and our embassy in Uzbekistan will be following up in more detail with them," Boucher said.
"Certainly, we condemn the violence and the terrorist acts that have occurred and support them in their effort to end terrorism."
Uzbekistan is a close U.S. ally in the war on terrorism and the United States has provided Uzbekistan with significant counterterrorism assistance in the past.
The main extremist group in the country, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department and is believed to have links to al Qaeda.
But Boucher said he did not know whether IMU was responsible for the bombings.
Boucher would not speculate on whether specific actions or policies by the Uzbek government were connected to the bombing.
The United States has criticized Uzbekistan in the past for its poor human rights record and lack of democracy under President Islam Karimov.
"We have many partners in the war on terror with whom we continue to talk in a straightforward and quite forceful manner about democracy, and taking steps toward democracy," Boucher said.
"Because ultimately, we believe the two go together. You can't just fight terrorists, you have to create the kind of stable society that embodies hope, that embodies opportunity. That is the best defense against terrorist groups getting a foothold."
After the attacks, which the government blamed on Islamic extremists, the U.S. Embassy in the country called on Americans in the region "to be on the highest alert."
An embassy spokesman told CNN there were no specific threats against U.S. citizens, but terrorist groups in the region over the past year have threatened to carry out attacks against Americans.
There are between 600 and 700 Americans in Uzbekistan who have registered with the Embassy, he said.
Uzbek authorities said a group called Hizb-ut-Tahrir was involved in the attacks, but there was no claim of responsibility.
The U.S. Embassy spokesman said Hizb-ut-Tahrir opposes the Uzbek government and wants an Islamic state but has said it would not use violence to achieve its ends. The group is not listed by the United States as a terrorist organization.
Islamic groups in the country have fiercely opposed the Uzbek government's support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
The Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said some arrests have been made in the investigation into who was behind the attacks.
