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DATE=9/18/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=KYRGYZSTAN/CLASH (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254048
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Seven soldiers in Kyrgyzstan have been killed 
and several others injured in a clash with a band of 
Islamic militants attempting to cross into the country 
from neighboring Tajikistan.  V-O-A Moscow 
correspondent Eve Conant reports government officials 
in Kyrgyzstan believe the militants are trying to 
reach Uzbekistan in order to destabilize the secular 
government there.
TEXT:  A Kyrgyz security official says several 
militants, including a field commander, also died in 
the battle which lasted several hours and ended early 
Saturday. 
The fighters are believed to be part of a band of 
several hundred rebels who crossed into Kyrgyzstan 
from their base in Tajikistan more than one month ago.  
Those fighters are holding several hostages, including 
a group of Japanese geologists. 
Officials believe the Islamic militants are trying to 
reach Uzbekistan in order to launch a holy war against 
the secular government of President Islam Karimov.
Uzbek officials have been watching developments in 
Kyrgyzstan with increasing alarm and have offered 
military support to rout the gunmen.
The Kyrgyz government had said that the fighters' main 
routes toward Uzbekistan had been blocked.  The small 
and poorly equipped Kyrgyz army has been struggling to 
contain the incursions by calling up reservists and 
relying on military equipment from Russia and other 
Central Asian neighboring states.
A Kyrgyz security official says this latest attack was 
most likely an attempt to break into the enclave of 
Sokh, a small pocket of Uzbekistan surrounded by 
Kyrgyz territory.  Officials say their first priority 
is to free the hostages before they can destroy the 
gunmen. 
The Interfax news agency reports Defense Ministry 
officials have dispatched special troops to the Tajik 
border in order to prevent further incursions by 
Islamic militants.  (Signed)
NEB/EC/ALW/KL
18-Sep-1999 10:31 AM EDT (18-Sep-1999 1431 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.