Kyrgyzstan 'repels rebel attack'

The Defence Ministry in Kyrgyzstan says its troops have repelled an attack by about 60 Islamic rebels who tried to cross from neighbouring Tajikistan.

Officials said Kyrgyz border guards fought the insurgents throughout the night before the gunmen retreated towards the southern border.

The clash is said to have taken place at Dzheluu-Suu in Kyrgyzstan's Batken region, a few kilometres from Tajikistan.

The mountainous terrain is difficult to police

There has been a series of attacks this month on both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan blamed by them on Islamic militants opposed to secular government.

The fighters are thought to be from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who aim to establish an Islamic state in the Fergana Valley which straddles the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The rebels are alleged to have been trained in Afghanistan.

Tajik denial

Both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan say the rebels' bases are in Tajikistan, but the authorities there deny it.

Tajikistan emergencies minister Mirzo Ziyoyev said every gorge in the mountainous border district had been inspected over the past two months for signs of the rebels.

"The government commission of which I am a member has been staying, on the instruction of Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmonov, in districts of the eastern areas near the Pamirs over the past two months.

Kyrgyz soldiers have strengthened border security

"Members of the commission inspected all gorges and have not seen a single militant there," Mr Ziyoyev told a news conference in Dushanbe on Monday

He also denied media reports that the rebels included members of the former Tajikistan opposition group, the United Tajik Opposition (UTO).

Mr Ziyoyev was a UTO commander during the Tajik civil war.

Destabilisation

BBC Eurasia analyst Malcolm Haslett says the rebels do not appear to be anywhere near launching the sort of concerted military campaign that the Taleban have mounted in Afghanistan.

Islamic rebels want to overthrow Uzbek President Islam Karimov

Most of the groups which have penetrated Uzbekistan and its neighbours seem to be relatively small, intent on starting a destabilisation process, he says.

The fact that they have succeeded in finding youthful recruits is seen as evidence of a certain disillusionment with existing regimes, a reaction against the sometimes harsh measures taken against even peaceful displays of Islamic feeling.