"He had many loaves of bread in his saddlebag" — The soldier who exposed the shepherd who assisted terrorists in Bostanlyk

"He had many loaves of bread in his saddlebag" — The military officer who exposed the shepherd who assisted terrorists in Bostanliq

Many are unaware that fierce battles took place in the Bostanliq mountains of the Tashkent region in 2000. In an episode of the "Qarorgoh" program dedicated to the analysis of the battles that took place in the Bostanliq mountains in August-September 2000, reserve Lieutenant Colonel Jahongir Shokirov spoke about how the military operations unfolded.

On August 15, 2000, news arrived that militant groups had breached the border in Bostanliq, and they first encountered Senior Lieutenant Shuhrat Sobirov and three soldiers under his command. Sobirov was killed in the shootout between the military and the militants.

"These events still stand before our eyes whenever August comes... Shuhrat Sobirov is from the village of Tuyachi in Andijan. Our comrade-in-arms, our classmate. Mahmud Jalilov is also from the same village... We studied in the same company, the same course, the same group. Shuhrat had transferred to the Border Troops a month earlier with the intention of continuing parachute jumping there, as parachute jumping was being organized there," Shokirov recalls.

According to the reserve military officer, at that time he had gone on duty with three soldiers along the Oqbuloq-Qorasoy route. Peace reigned on the road, people were resting as usual, busy with their work: someone was digging potatoes, someone was bringing them. He and the soldiers stopped to have lunch. Meanwhile, the enemy was watching them from above precisely during lunchtime...

Since the soldiers had only been in service for six months, they lacked experience and skills. At that time, combat operations were also ongoing in the Uzun district of Surxondaryo. Jahongir Shokirov was on leave, at his home in the Bekobod district of Tashkent region. He was urgently summoned to the military school in Chirchiq.

"The next day, around nine o'clock, we received our assignment standing in a room with the head of the school, Major General Feruz Usmonov, and the deputy head for work with personnel, Colonel Majidov. The boys had prepared the equipment in the school's park. A composite battalion was formed, and they told me, 'yours is the 1st combat battalion'. Therefore, tasks were set to go and take charge, saying that you are responsible for the life of each of your cadets, the weapons, and ammunition of each of your cadets. Then we went to the park, fully took over the personnel of the attached ninth company, and set off from the park around 12:00," says Jahongir Shokirov.

The military personnel were stationed at the "Oltin yombi" pension in the village of Burchmulla, Tashkent region. "That location was chosen by the leadership because it was close to the territory crossed by the destructive militants who invaded our republic, and it was a convenient place where preparation could be made, and where personnel could be transported to the battlefield by helicopters. Based on the instructions of the Minister of Defense, the leadership of the school targeted this place. When we arrived, the citizens at the 'Oltin yombi' pension did not yet know what was happening... It was around 06:30–07:00, it had become twilight. Colonel Majidov set the task. It was explained to the people gently, without causing panic, and they were all put on buses and slowly sent away," says Shokirov.

The reserve officer recalls that in August, the grass in Burchmulla had grown very tall. He is 1 meter 90 centimeters tall, and if a person walking ahead bent down slightly, they would become invisible... When the unit reached a place called Oqbuloq, they came across the body of Shuhrat Sobirov. His hands were cut off, and he had been shot in the forehead. An inscription was left on a stone: "this will happen to each of you."

What was the actual purpose of the militants entering Bostanliq?

Shokirov assumes that the attack on Bostanliq was a diversionary maneuver, as intense battles were also going on in Sariosiyo at that time. In addition, a reservoir is located there. The militants allegedly wanted to blow up the reservoir and direct the main force of the military to this side.

"Now, if you have been to that reservoir, you know, if its top is 25-30 meters, its bottom is 200 meters. One could not achieve anything by blowing it up with TNT brought in bags. Even so, if the water crossed the dam, it was clear that it would reach Tashkent and cause very large casualties. Therefore, a very large force was deployed to prevent this," he says.

On August 27, the unit led by Jahongir Shokirov was transported by a Mi-8 helicopter to an area of the Chatkal mountain range close to Batken. Because after the use of force began, the enemy might try to leave the country's territory. The Uzbek military preferred to descend from the heights rather than go from the bottom up — this was also easier for the fighters to move.

While inspecting the area with his unit, Jahongir Shokirov stopped a young shepherd and noticed that there was a lot of bread in the saddlebag on his horse. The shepherd was sent to the "necessary place" by helicopter, and important information was obtained from him.

"Looking into my eyes, he said, 'I have children, I have to take it to them'. Later we found out he had no children. He started faltering in his words... We realized that the bread was intended for the group of militants who had entered Uzbekistan," says Shokirov.

When the shepherd's saddlebags were emptied, it turned out that besides bread, there was also honey inside them. The honey was wrapped on separate small sticks, which was to make it easy for the militants to eat them while on the move. The number of such honey sticks was around 50.

The operation against the militants was also carried out in the south of Kyrgyzstan. According to the Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies, a group of up to 40 extremists operated in the Leylek district of the Batken region. The fact that the battles took place in high-altitude mountainous areas complicated the task of government troops to eliminate the militants.

As a result of the prompt actions carried out, the group of militants that entered Bostanliq was destroyed.

A report published by the Russian publication "Kommersant" on August 25, 2000, states:

The First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Russia, Colonel General Valery Manilov, once again expressed Russia's readiness to provide military-technical assistance to Uzbekistan if a corresponding appeal is received. Islam Karimov politely rejected such offers from Russia.

The publication noted that behind the events lay not only the battles in the mountains, but also a clash of interests of various special services and political forces in the region. According to one of "Kommersant's" sources, such activity of intelligence services in the region was last observed during the Second World War, during the preparation for the "Tehran-43" operation.

The publication writes that the goal of the militants was to strike a blow to the government of Islam Karimov. Kyrgyzstan was seen as one of the routes to enter the Fergana Valley. The article also notes that supporters of Wahhabism have strong positions in the Fergana Valley.

A special role was assigned to Tajikistan, the publication believes. On the one hand, "Kommersant" points to Tajikistan as one of the main base areas for the militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and claims that they were patronized by some influential officials and representatives of law enforcement agencies in the country.

On the other hand, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon is depicted as one of the politicians closest to Russia in Central Asia. According to the publication, his attempts to build a secular state and fight drug trafficking aroused the dissatisfaction of extremist groups.

For this reason, the author of the article suggests that the second important goal of the invasion of Uzbekistan could be to pit Rahmon against neighboring countries and, as a result, weaken Russia's influence in the region.

An interesting document fell into the hands of "Kommersant's" correspondent in Tashkent. It spoke about a secret meeting of former opposition field commanders in the Tajik law enforcement agencies.

The document states that the commander of the presidential guard Ghaffor Mirzoyev, Minister of Emergency Situations Mirzo Ziyoyev, and IMU leaders participated in the meeting. It is noted that Emomali Rahmon allegedly also participated in it. The document writes that Juma Namangani informed Rahmon and other participants that "he would continue to wage an active struggle against Uzbekistan." However, the publication itself also noted that the mention of Rahmon's name in this context could be a pre-planned provocation.

According to the publication, the efforts of the opposing forces yielded a certain result in the rapprochement of Tajikistan and Russia. The report recalls that Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev refused to participate in the CIS summit in Yalta, and sharply criticized Rahmon at the meeting of the heads of Central Asian states.

"Kommersant" assumed that the Uzbek and Kyrgyz special services might have already presented the text of the above-mentioned document to their presidents by that time.