Uzbekistan: Troops move into 'Islamic state' town

Government troops reclaimed control of an eastern Uzbek town where rebels announced they would build a strict Islamic state, arresting the group’s leaders without bloodshed, residents said today.

They said about 1,000 government forces occupied Korasuv, a town of 20,000 on the border with Kyrgyzstan, overnight, arresting the rebel leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov and several aides, who had announced a plan to rule according to Islamic law.

No shots were fired, according to local residents.

The government action comes after government forces fired on protesters in a nearby Uzbek city of Andijan last Friday, killing hundreds, according to witnesses, and causing international outcry.