KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – China has urged its citizens to leave areas near Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan after three Chinese nationals were killed and another was wounded in an attack this week.
As reported by Reuters, the Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe confirmed the casualties and called on Tajikistan to investigate the incident, which occurred on Wednesday night in Khatlon province. The victims were employees of LLC Shohin SM, a company operating in the area.
Tajikistan’s foreign ministry said the attack was carried out from the territory of Afghanistan and involved firearms and a drone equipped with a grenade. The ministry condemned the attack as “an act of terrorism” and urged the Taliban to help ensure stability along the shared frontier.
The Taliban foreign ministry also condemned the incident, saying the perpetrators aim to create instability and mistrust among regional states. The ministry said it was ready to cooperate with Tajikistan through information exchange, technical coordination, and joint assessments to identify those responsible.
The incident comes amid renewed engagement between Tajikistan and the Taliban on border security. Senior Tajik diplomats and security officials have visited Kabul in recent weeks for discussions, though political relations remain delicate. Tajikistan is the only neighboring country that has not handed over control of its Afghanistan embassy to the Taliban, and its own embassy in Kabul remains closed.
In recent years, Dushanbe has repeatedly raised concerns over militant groups in northern Afghanistan, particularly Jamiat Ansarullah, also known as the Tajik Taliban. Tajik officials say the group operates from Afghan territory and has conducted numerous cross-border attacks over the past years.
