UPDATE 1-Militants attack Tajik border post, 17 killed - security officials
- Country:
- Tajikistan
Masked Islamic State militants attacked a border post on the Tajik-Uzbek border overnight, triggering a gun battle that killed 15 of the militants, a guard and a policeman, Tajik authorities said on Wednesday.
There was no immediate announcement from the militant group, which has claimed responsibility for a series of assaults in Tajikistan in recent months. Five of the gunmen were captured after the attack on the Tajik side of the border, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of the capital Dushanbe, Tajikistan's National Security Committee said.
It released a photograph showing the badly burned bodies of three men in black military-style outfits, lying on the ground next to a wrecked car. The committee said the gunmen had entered the former Soviet republic earlier this month via its border with Afghanistan.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on Western cyclists in Tajikistan last year and for a prison riot in May.
Also Read: WHO emphasizes cross-border collaboration to share information on Ebola
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ALSO READ
Afghanistan: Landmine explosion claims lives of 2 children, injures 4
Albania, wary of Russia, reopens Soviet-era air base to NATO
UN rights chief Volker Turk calls for prioritizing women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan
US panel postpones meeting to hold Blinken in contempt over Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s economy has ‘basically collapsed’: UNDP