Four armed individuals who crossed into Tajikistan from Afghanistan were killed overnight in a confrontation with border guards, Tajikistan’s National Security Committee has announced. The incident occurred near a village adjacent to Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
The committee stated that the men refused commands to surrender and engaged in armed resistance, leading to their deaths. While the committee alleged the four were “members of a terrorist organisation,” no further details on their identities or affiliations were provided.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid offered a different account, claiming the group were drug traffickers attempting to smuggle narcotics into Tajikistan. He said the incident was under investigation and that Afghanistan would not allow the border area to be destabilised, as reported by Tolo News.
This marks the second such incident along the shared border since November, when a cross-border attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan killed three Chinese workers and wounded a fourth. Tajikistan said that attack was carried out with a drone equipped with grenades and firearms.
Relations between Tajikistan and Afghanistan have been strained since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, though there have been recent signs of a thaw, including border market reopenings in 2023 and a Tajik delegation visiting Kabul in November.
