July 30 (UPI) -- Four bicyclists, two of them Americans, were killed in a terrorist attack while biking through Tajikistan, the interior ministry said Monday.
Two were from the United States, one from the Netherlands and one from Switzerland. Officials said they died when they were run down by a car Sunday and attacked with knives and guns.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the first time it has purportedly acted in Tajikistan, the BBC reported.
The group said it carried out an attack on "citizens of the crusader coalition," but didn't provide any further evidence of its involvement.
Three of the bikers died at the scene and the fourth at the hospital. Three other cyclists were injured. The incident occurred in Takikistan's Danghara district, near the border with Afghanistan.
Authorities said the dead and injured were found over a considerable distance on the road, suggesting that some may have been chased by perpetrators in a vehicle.
No identities other than nationality were announced.
Two of the suspected attackers died during their arrests and four others were detained, the ministry said.
Rakhimzoda said an investigation was under the personal control of Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, who has urged his nation to increase foreign tourism. Rahmon's hometown is near the site of the attack.
The leader described the incident as a "cruel act" in a note of condolence to U.S. President Donald Trump.
