Tajikistan has issued an international arrest warrant for a top Tajik police commander who joined the Islamic State (IS) group.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 3 that Colonel Gulmuro Halimov is wanted for crimes including high treason and illegal participation in military actions abroad.

"Acting for mercenary means, he joined the international terrorist organization calling itself Islamic State," the statement said.

It added that Halimov has been "used as an actor" in a "video spectacle" aimed to justify the IS group's "monstrous crimes."

Halimov, the commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry's Special Forces, known as OMON, disappeared in April.

On May 27, a video posted online showed him brandishing a sniper rifle and threatening to bring holy war to Russia and the United States.

He singled out Tajikistan's crackdown on Islamic dress and limitations on public prayer as reasons for his radicalization.

With reporting by Reuters