Two Americans among the four killed in a "senseless attack" in Tajikistan

Two Americans were killed in Tajikistan in what the US Embassy described as a "senseless" attack on the car and knife against a group of seven cyclists

. Two other tourists – one Swiss and the other Dutch – were also killed.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video on Tuesday to show the assailants their allegiance to the group. However, US officials have not confirmed the involvement of the state and the Tajik government has blamed the local Islamists

Another cyclist injured in Sunday's attack was stabbed and in stable condition Interior Minister Ramazon Rakhimzoda told a press conference Monday. In a statement, the US Embassy in Dushanbe said that a car with Tajik citizens had struck cyclists in Danghara, south of the capital of the former Soviet republic. "We condemn this senseless attack, offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded," the statement said. Rakhimzoda said that one of the suspects was later arrested, that another had been killed and that three others had remained on the run.

A spokesman for the State Department referred questions to the Tajik authorities.

This is the first known attack of this type targeting Western tourists in Tajikistan, a remote state located north of Afghanistan in towering mountains where Islamists fought an insurgency against a government backed by Moscow in the 1990.

Tuesday's video of Amaq Media, the spokesman for the Islamic State, shows five Tajik young men taking oath of allegiance to the terrorist group According to the cabinet of Security consulting and NBC News partner, Flashpoint Intelligence, the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan blamed the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan for the attack, citing what he said was the confession of a detained suspect. [19659004CependantleleaderenexilMuhiddinKabiriadéclaréàReuters:”Nousnionscomplètementl'allégationillogiqueduministèredel'IntérieuretcondamnonscetacteterroristeCela[statement] diverts the attention of real criminals. "