KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security has announced that four “terrorists” were killed during an armed clash with Tajik security forces in border areas with Afghanistan.
According to the Khavar news agency, the committee said the incident took place early on Sunday (18 January), after the individuals crossed into Tajik territory from the village of Darbandak in Khwahan district of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
The committee stated that Tajik forces identified the group’s location and launched an operation to detain them. However, the suspects refused to surrender, leading to an armed confrontation in which all four were killed.
The statement added that a number of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the site, including three Kalashnikov rifles and one handgun.
Border regions between Afghanistan and Tajikistan have seen an increase in the presence and activities of “terrorist” groups over the past year.
Tajikistan has repeatedly called on the Taliban to prevent militants from crossing into its territory from Afghan soil. The Taliban have said they have launched investigations following several such incidents but have so far not made the results public.
