Rafiq Qori Kamoluddin, the prominent ethnic Uzbek religious leader who was killed during a security raid in southern Kyrgyzstan on August 6, is not the first imam to have been targeted by law-enforcement agencies in the region. Several other Uzbek imams have been persecuted before. But he is the first to have been targeted by both Kyrgyz and Uzbek security services. Independent observers say the violent death of an Islamic leader known for his tolerance toward radical worshipers highlights increasing Kyrgyz-Uzbek cooperation to fight religious dissent.