TASHKENT (Xinhua) — Uzbekistan’s law enforcement bodies have arrested 11 suspected members of the Islamist militant group Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, the Uzbek Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The suspects were apprehended on Tuesday after police and state security forces conducted operations at eight sites in Tashkent in search of physical evidence of their alleged illegal activities, police stated.

According to a police statement, the detainees fell under the influence of militants operating in the ranks of an international terrorist organization in Syria, and planned to travel to the Middle East.

Last month, Uzbek law enforcement bodies arrested 25 men believed to have affiliation to the same militant group. Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court listed Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad as a terrorist organization in 2016.