IED KILLS ONE AT CONFERENCE CENTER IN DUSHANBE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 001650

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/SCA, DS/ITA, S/CT, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2017
TAGS: ASEC PTER PINR TI
SUBJECT: IED KILLS ONE AT CONFERENCE CENTER IN DUSHANBE

REF: A. REF A: RSO SPOT REPORT DATED 11/14/2007

B. REF B: DUSHANBE 00001593

C. REF C: DUSHANBE 00000928

CLASSIFIED BY: SETH E. GREEN, REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICER,
DUSHANBE, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (SBU) Per REF A, at approximately 0800 local time on
November 14, an improvised explosive device detonated outside
Kokhi Vahdat, a prominent conference hall in the center of
Dushanbe along the main street (Rudaki Avenue). The Regional
Security Officer observed more than 100 Ministry of Interior
policemen on site and numerous officials from the State
Committee for National Security. There was no significant
structural damage visible from the main street. The explosion
occurred outside the conference center building along the south
side, where a small road leads to a residential area, separating
the center from the Avesto Hotel. There are no entrances to
Kokhi Vahdat on the south side. Press reports and official
statements indicate that a single Tajik employee of the center
was killed when he disturbed the explosive device. There are
conflicting reports whether the victim was a gardener or
security guard.


2. (S/NF) Canine specialists assigned to the Embassy for
protection by the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Militia
Detachment for Special Purposes (OMON) were called to the site
to assist with the investigation. The Regional Security
Office's Security Investigator, dispatched to the site, observed
a dismembered body surrounding the blast area, corroborating at
least one fatality. The Security Investigator noted the
Ministry of Interior was responsible for collecting evidence,
which is likely being taken to the Ministry's forensic
laboratory.


3. (C/NF) Members of Post's Local Guard Force were near the
site around 0800 and heard the explosion. They noted that the
Hotel Avesto, located approximately 60 meters away, was never
sealed off nor were investigators searching the grounds in
between the hotel and the side street. They speculated that
this indicates a smaller explosive without shrapnel. Other
private citizens including Tajik, American, and Canadian
citizens contacted their friends at the Embassy with various
details, all painting a similar picture -- an explosion just
outside the conference center and a quick response by police to
seal off the area. The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe's security office issued a spot report
with similar details and corroborating media reports that
windows were destroyed at nearby buildings. Regional Security
Office personnel on scene never saw structural damage aside from
minor damage to Kokhi Vahdat itself.


4. (SBU) The Embassy is located in a different part of
Dushanbe. There were no Americans present at the time of the
blast. Embassy employees living approximately a kilometer away
reported hearing a single explosion around that time. No
additional explosions have been reported in the city.


5. (SBU) The regional consultative meeting for Disaster Risk
Reduction in Central Asia was being held at Kokhi Vahdat,
organized by the European Commission - Disaster Preparedness -
ECHO in Central Asia. According to an official schedule, the
Prime Minister of Tajikistan was supposed to open the conference
at 0900 local time, followed by the Head of the European
Commission Delegation with the rank of Ambassador. Embassy
staff was invited to the conference, but none had planned to
attend.


6. (SBU) The Regional Security Office diverted all Embassy
vehicles away from the immediate area to allow Tajik law
enforcement officials to conduct their investigation, and
dispatched the Security Investigators to conduct liaison on
site. Embassy employees were advised not to attend large
gatherings. The Consul sent a warden message giving the same
advice to private American citizens. Consular operations
continued; however the Embassy stopped landscaping work on the
compound in order to move personnel inside the Chancery. The
local guard force set up an emergency dispatcher to track the
movement of all official vehicles, provide advice on routes, and
maintain accountability. The Regional Security Officer stood
down the heightened posture at 1200 local time and provided an
updated briefing to the Ambassador's detail on the importance of
carefully screening locations in advance of her arrival,

DUSHANBE 00001650 002 OF 003


including Tajik government buildings.


7. (SBU) News media started gathering on site within minutes,
after being alerted by correspondents from RIA Novosti and Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who heard the explosion. (The
headquarters for RFE/RL is located close by the site). A
reporter for the Central Asian cable network Mir TV tried to
videotape the response from emergency crews and law enforcement,
but a policeman confiscated the film. Some accounts noted
(inaccurately) that the Kokhi Vahdat is also the headquarters of
the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (President Rahmon's
party),and pointed out that the Uzbek Embassy is located 100
meters from the incident. The local news wire Asia Plus cited
an unnamed source that estimated the force to be equal to two to
three kilograms of TNT. The wire also reported that the blast
blew out the windows in the Kokhi Vahdat and "buildings nearby."


8. (C/NF) The President of Tajikistan was out of Dushanbe at
the time, having left earlier that morning for the northern Sogd
Region. He was traveling to the city of Khojand to celebrate
the sixteenth anniversary of his initial election as Chairman of
the Supreme Council of Tajikistan, the event which led directly
to his becoming president at the end of the civil war. The
Dushanbe City Prosecutor was on site approximately two hours
after the incident and spoke with the press, calling the
incident a "terrorist attack." He announced that the State
Committee for National Security would lead the investigation. A
Ministry of Defense contact later told the Regional Security
Office's Security Investigator that the government set up a task
force to deal with the incident, including the State Committee
for National Security, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of
Interior, and Ministry of Defense.


9. (C/NF) Major General Kosimjon GAFAROV, First Deputy
Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, spoke to
reporters on the scene of the explosion approximately an hour
and a half after the event and later told the Regional Security
Office's Security Investigator that he was preparing a press
release for the international press as well. He stated that he
was too busy, however, to brief the Regional Security Officer
and did not assign anyone from his Committee to do so.


10. (C/NF) The Regional Security Officer received telephone
calls from the British and German Embassies regarding the
incident. The British Deputy Chief of Mission was concerned
that the event signaled a targeting of westerners, as it
happened at the site of a European Commission-sponsored event.
She also speculated that perhaps it was an attempt to
assassinate the Prime Minister.


11. (SBU) Comment: It is extremely unlikely that this was a
planned assassination attempt, as the explosive was not near any
entrance that would have been used by the Prime Minister,
European Union Ambassador, or any guests. The size of the
explosive blast makes it unlikely that it was intended to cause
significant structural damage. What was unusual about this
explosion compared to others over the past few years was that it
occurred during the daytime and someone was killed.


12. (S/NF) Comment continued: Speculation concerning motives
for this bombing was all over the map. Some Tajiks reasoned
that the bomb was probably directed by the former opposition to
embarrass the President; and others that perhaps it was staged
by the government to provide cover for upcoming action against
former opposition members. Prior attacks outside the Ministry
on Emergency Situations were often assumed to be politically
motivated, as that ministry was previously led by a former
member of the United Tajik Opposition. Following the December
2006 government restructuring, there are few opposition
personnel still employed at the now Committee on Emergency
Situations, which was participating in the meeting at Kokhi
Vahdat.


13. (S/NF) Comment continued: It is extremely rare for
GAFAROV to give a press statement and unheard of for him to
prepare a statement for the international press. Additionally,
it is rare for statements to be made so quickly with the
President out of town. GAFAROV himself usually travels with the
President; and last week, he had told the Regional Security
Officer that he would, in fact, be out of town with the
President this week. GAFAROV's refusal to meet with the
Regional Security Officer is understandable, but we will raise
GAFAROV's refusal to assign someone else on his staff to provide
a briefing at the next liaison opportunity.


DUSHANBE 00001650 003 OF 003



14. (SBU) Note: This is the second improvised explosive
device detonation in Dushanbe in the past two weeks. On
November 2, an improvised explosive device detonated in Dushanbe
destroying the official vehicle of Lieutenant General Rajabali
RAHMONALIYEV, the Commander of the Tajik National Guard. That
case is still under investigation. (See REF B) In June 2007, a
small improvised explosive device was thrown at the Supreme
Court building in downtown Dushanbe. (See REF C) The Ministry
of Interior is investigating this attack as a criminal matter.
In June 2006, three explosive devices detonated around the city
in early morning causing little damage. The Ministry of
Interior investigated these incidents and concluded they were
pranks by teenagers. End Note.


15. (U) The point of contact for this and all security related
issues at Post is Regional Security Officer Seth Green.
JACOBSON