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Former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan act as transit nations for U.S. Afghan supplies. ALMATY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban may seek to establish a foothold in ex-Soviet Central Asia to recruit supporters and disrupt supplies for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, regional security officials said on Nov. 24.

Former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan act as transit nations for U.S. Afghan supplies and all but Kazakhstan have reported armed clashes with Islamists this year.

In the past year, the Taliban insurgency has spread to parts of northern Afghanistan that had long been relatively peaceful, even as violence raged in the south and east of the country.

"The deteriorating situation in northern Afghanistan enables the Taliban to spread their influence in that region, giving international terrorists more opportunities to infiltrate the territory of Central Asian states," Mikhail Melikhov, a senior official at the Common Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), told a conference in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

CSTO, dominated by Russia, is a defence bloc of ex-Soviet republics.

Marat Imankulov, the head of the anti-terrorist centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), another post-Soviet bloc that focuses on economic and political ties, said security risks were compounded by the economic downturn.

"Frankly speaking, the economic crisis in the CIS countries is turning into a social one," he told the conference. "We cannot avoid talking about the growing risks of extremist and terrorist activities."

Imankulov said some security analysts expected the Taliban to try destabilising Central Asian states "to disrupt equipment and food supply channels for coalition forces."

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said this year they had smashed Taliban-linked gangs in operations that involved armed clashes.

But human rights groups say some Central Asian government are using the Islamist threat as an excuse to crack down on those refusing to adhere to the officially sponsored versions of Islam.