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By Trend

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi strongly condemned a recent terrorist attack in Tajikistan that killed four tourists in the Central Asian country.

In a statement on Tuesday, Qassemi slammed the attack and sympathized with the bereaved families of the victims as well as the Tajik government and nation, Mehr news agency reported on Jul 31.

“We condemn any act of terrorism in all its forms and shapes wherever in the world, particularly the recent attack against tourists in Tajikistan,” he said.

The spokesman further took swipe at a recent statement by Tajikistan’s interior ministry against Iran, noting, “The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects having any link to the incident”.

He also strongly denounced reports that Iran has a “base on its soil to train (militants) for the purpose of acts of sabotage”, saying Tehran is ready to cooperate with Dushanbe to investigate this issue from different aspects.

Qassemi said such “baseless” claims and reports are aimed at destroying Iran-Tajikistan brotherly ties, noting the two sides should bolster relations and do not allow such issues affect their relations.

The attack on Sunday killed four tourists from the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The four Western cyclists were killed when a car plowed into them on a rural road. After the crash, the attackers also stabbed their victims, Tajikistan’s interior minister said on Monday.

On Tuesday, the ISIS terror group claimed responsibility the attack. The terror group released a video showing the five men who carried out the attack pledging allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Tajik police earlier had issued a statement blaming a banned Islamist political party for the attack.

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