Two Tajik border guards were killed and three militants shot dead during a cross border attack launched from Afghanistan into Tajikistan, Tajik security officials confirmed.
According to British media reports, the incident occurred in a border area between Shamsiddin Shohin district of Tajikistan’s Khatlon province and Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
Tajik national security authorities said the attack was carried out during an attempted infiltration from Afghan territory. Tajik forces repelled the incursion, killing three attackers, but lost two personnel in the exchange of fire.
The Tajik state news agency Khovar reported that the identities of the killed terrorists and their organisational affiliation have not yet been disclosed. Security forces recovered a large cache of weapons and ammunition from the attackers.
Reacting strongly to the incident, Tajik officials said this was the third major infiltration and terrorist attack originating from Afghanistan in the past month in which military personnel have been killed.
Tajik authorities described the repeated attacks as clear evidence of the Afghan Taliban administration’s serious negligence and irresponsibility in upholding its international commitments to prevent the use of Afghan soil for cross border terrorism.
Tajikistan demanded that the Taliban leadership apologise to the Tajik people and take effective measures to ensure security along the Afghan side of the border.
The government also warned that Tajik forces are fully capable of defending the country’s borders and will respond decisively to any external aggression or attempts at infiltration and smuggling.
