Karimov, who died on Friday (September 2) at the age of 78 after suffering a stroke, will be buried later on Saturday in his hometown of Samarkand, about 300 km (185 miles) southwest of the capital.

The veteran leader had run the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation since 1989 and nearly half of its 32 million citizens were born after he came to power.

Many mourners held flowers, mostly red roses, which they laid on the road as the funeral train, which set out at 6 a.m. (0100 GMT) drove by on its way to the airport.

S/SH 11