Terrorist from Tajikistan arrested in Russia's Penza region

The gunman was trained in Iran-based terrorist center and conducted subversive activities in Russia 

The man's name is rather hard to pronounce - Tavkalshokh. Like other illegal immigrants from Tajikistan, he was working in Russia for an Afghan citizen, who had a small business on a local market in the city of Penza. The man had a fake passport issued for Tajik citizen named Tajiddin Kurbanov. His rich life experience included training at a secret extremist center, membership in a terrorist group and attempts to start the drug business.

Tavkalshokh Mirov, 33, was on the international wanted list. Police officers of the Penza region detained him as a result of the operation conducted jointly with the Tajikistan Interior Affairs Ministry. Tajik authorities were greatly interested in the man. Republican special services determined Mirov was a terrorist group member from 1994 to 2001; the group was organizing assassinations and explosions. It is known, for the time being, the group has killed 20 people, including Russian military men deployed in Tajikistan. The group also arranged a terrorist act against the Christian center in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital.

Investigators of the police administration in the Penza region found out Mirov was trained in 1996-1997 at a special terrorist center in Iran. The list of subjects taught at the center included organization of explosions, tactics in small terrorist groups, weapons handling, fundamentalist religion, propaganda methods. After the training Mirov returned to Tajikistan. He reportedly killed a British citizen of the Iranian origin in December of 2001. The killer had to hide after that crime: at first he found shelter at his relative in Chelyabinsk, tried to do the drug trafficking business. A large group of drug dealers was arrested in 2002, and the former militant decided to return to Tajikistan.

Tavkalshokh Mirov did not stay long in Dushanbe. A group of gunmen was destroyed: some gunmen were arrested, others were put on wanted list. Mirov managed to obtain a forged passport and left to Russia again. He lived in Moscow, in the Mordovia republic and finally settled in the Penza region. Law-enforcement agencies found out, however, Mirov was always in contact with international terrorist centers abroad, which were his sources of income too. Working on a local market in the Penza region, he started running extremist propaganda among other illegal immigrants. He even attempted to organize a small terrorist group. Police officers ruined the plans: the terrorist was arrested.