 He also said criminal groups had divided the area between each other and may have taken advantage of the situation.Tashtemir Eshaliyev, head of security in the Batken Province, said the militants were from Kanibadam, Sogdh Province whose actions were tied to the anniversary of the Andijan massacre and said they were members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.Qosimshoh Iskandarov, chairman of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Conflicts, a Tajik think tank, said, "Today's attacks could be the work of either Islamic groupings or criminal gangs involved in drug-smuggling operations.