Hizb-ut Tahrir denies any involvement with Uzbek bombings

[Truth Seeker]

BEIRUT, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A London-based Islamist group that wants to create a pan-Islamic state in Central Asia has denied involvement in Friday's suicide bombings against the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan.

 

Uzbek President Islam Karimov blamed Hizb ut-Tahrir on Saturday for the explosions that killed three people and also targeted the state prosecutor's office in the capital Tashkent.

 

In a statement delivered to Reuters in Beirut overnight Saturday, Hizb ut-Tahrir said it was committed to using only non-violent means to pursue its goals.

 

"Hizb ut-Tahrir does not use physical actions in its calling but intellectual battle and political struggle," said the statement, which was typed in Arabic and dated July 31.

 

"When it does not use physical actions in its calling it could not have done this out of fear of anyone."

 

Karimov's government had also blamed Hizb ut-Tahrir for bomb attacks in March that killed nearly 50 people. The latest blasts came four days after the authoritarian ex-Soviet state put 15 suspected al Qaeda supporters on trial for the March blasts.

 

Media reports had implicated another group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, blamed for a series of bombings in 1999. But Karimov, who tolerates only state-sponsored Islam and has cracked down on any unauthorised religious or political activity, pointed the finger squarely at Hizb ut-Tahrir.

 

Police have arrested several suspects and Karimov cut short his holiday in Crimea to head a government commission to probe the bombings, which drew U.S. and Russian condemnation.

 

Hizb ut-Tahrir criticised Karimov, who has crushed any challenge to his authority since Soviet times, as an American stooge who had killed and tortured its members.

 

"Yes, Karimov who collaborates with head infidel America, has used every criminal means to torture the young men and women of the party," the statement said.

 

"If using physical means for revenge was our way, we would not have resorted to an explosion here and there but would have entered his palace and killed him."

 

Source: Reuters