Aral Sea fate. Since the disappearance of the Southeast Aral in 2008, Vozrozhdeniya effectively no longer exists as a distinct geographical feature. The area is now shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1948, a top-secret Soviet bioweapons laboratory was established on the island, in the centre of the Aral Sea which is now disputed territory between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The exact history, functions and current status of this facility are still unclear, but bio-agents tested there included "Bacillus anthracis", "Coxiella burnetii", "Francisella tularensis", "Brucella suis", "Rickettsia prowazekii", "Variola major" (smallpox), "Yersinia pestis", botulinum toxin, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. In 1971, weaponized
Terrorism and counter-terrorism in Kazakhstan Uzbek authorities accuse of involvement in the Andijan unrest and membership in a religious extremist organization, and Kyrgyzstan deported five Andijan-refugees—Jahongir Maqsudov, Yoqub Toshboev, Odiljon Rahimov, Rasuljon Pirmatov, and Fayoz Tojihalilov—to Uzbekistan in early August 2006. In March 1998 the Uzbek government accused Obidkhon Qori Nazarov, an Imam, of religious extremism, terrorism, and membership in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Nazarov fled to Kazakhstan, leaving behind his wife, son, and three brothers, all of whom have been imprisoned or disappeared, though his wife has been released. John MacLeod, a senior editor for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting who