Tajik police confirm the use of a knife during an attack

The Dutch cyclist, who died Sunday in an accident in Tajikistan, was the victim of a deliberate attack. The group of seven tourists with whom he was traveling was hit. In total, four foreign cyclists lost their lives. According to the Tajik police, one of the victims was certainly stabbed, reports the AP news agency.

The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed Monday responsibility for the attack via its news agency Amaq. They allegedly carried out the attack in retaliation for the actions of the international coalition fighting the IS in Iraq and Syria. IS provided no other evidence to support its claim.

The attack took place in the southern region of Danghara. The Dutch fatal victim is René Wokke, 56 years old. His girlfriend Kim Postma (58) was injured. According to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she is not in danger of death. In addition, two Americans and one Swiss lost their lives.

On Monday morning, Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Hamro Rahimzoda said the perpetrators were armed. Later, his ministry said that the three fugitive writers had been killed in the village of Osmondar. No additional information has been provided in the declaration. A suspect had already been killed Sunday, he reportedly carried a firearm. A fifth attacker was arrested.

See also: A Dutch couple in danger has cycled from Bangkok to Tehran

Experienced traveler

Erik Wokke from Drachten confirms to NRC that his brother is the Dutch victim. "It's very unexpected – I heard it from the police last night," he says. "The Foreign Ministry can not tell me exactly what happened."

His brother and his girlfriend were engaged in a bike ride from Thailand to Iran. "They left in February," says Wokke. Rene was a very experienced traveler, he says. "He has traveled since the age of twenty and has been to more than 130 countries."

Above the last post of Wokke's travel blog: The Pamir bikes die first. The Pamir is a mountain range in Central Asia, mainly east of Tajikistan.

Three fugitives

Tajik President Emomali Rachmon conveyed his condolences to Willem-Alexander and other heads of state. "With much sadness and compassion, we have taken note of the tragic deaths of two US citizens, Swiss citizens and citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, following a collision between a car and a cyclist on the day. One of the freeways

Knives

Eyewitnesses have already reported to the local media that the culprits were carrying knives.The armed men would have come out of two cars and would have put the tourists.

L & # 39; incident occurred around 3:30 pm local time around 90 km south of the capital Dushanbe.Tajik authorities initially assumed a road accident.In a statement, the Tajik ministry reported Sunday night that three cyclists died on the blow and that another died in the hospital.