The United States has treated this threat seriously. Two weeks before this incident the US department of state issued a statement, which read that the “US administration has obtained information that the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is stepping up its activity in Central Asia. There are indications that the extremists may plan a number of terrorist acts suggesting that the United States’ interests in Kyrgyzstan could be attacked. The US embassy in Bishkek is taking measures for heightened security ... “

In no time, the FBI has traced the message to the city of Osh in which quite recently an underground cell of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has been uncovered. This group was suspected of carrying out a series of explosions in Kyrgyzstan. The US embassy requested the department of internal affairs in Osh to hunt down an author of this menacing message. It was found out that the e-mail was sent from an apartment in downtown Osh. The sender’s telephone number was linked to an Internet cafe called “Mir” housed in the same building. It was owned by a young Pakistani citizen who has recently graduated from the local medical university and decided to stay in Osh to start his own business. The message that has alarmed vigilant Americans could have been sent from any of the six computers installed in the cafe.

Police in Osh quickly made a list of regular customers of the Internet cafe, reducing the number of suspects to 20. Most of them appeared to be Pakistani students aged between 18 and 21. Police, however, do not believe that there was a terrorist threat for the United States coming from Osh.

“This looks rather like some foolish childish escapade,” said Police Colonel Aliyev, commenting the incident. We guess which of the cafe’s customers sent the message. We are now considering how to penalize him. He is most likely to be prosecuted on a charge of hooliganism.

Anti-American sentiments in Osh, as well as in neighboring Dzhalal-Abad are common knowledge. Ahead of the war in Iraq, leaflets were posted and scattered everywhere in these cities, denouncing “damned kyafirs (unfaithful) bombing Muslims”. Authorities blamed the leaflets on Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an underground religious-and-political party. As a result, many of the party’s supporters were detained and prosecuted. Though there was no call for terror in these leaflets.