Islamic militants held in Tajikistan

The authorities in Tajikistan say they have arrested three members of a banned Islamic movement called Khizbi Tahrir.

A spokesman for the interior ministry said the three men were arrested while preaching to a group of young people at a clandestine meeting in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

The spokesman said that leaflets calling for an overthrow of the republic's current political order and the creation of a medieval-style Islamic state were found in their possesion.

Khizbi Tahrir originated in the Taleban-held areas of Afghanistan, from where it spread its influence to neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.