Two dead in clash on Tajik-Afghan border: border guards

Tajik border guards killed an armed fighter who had crossed over from Afghanistan and lost an officer during a clash along the border, a statement said today.
"A clash between a border patrol and a nine-strong group, which was armed to their teeth and had crossed over from Afghanistan, took place near the Panj border post," the border guards said, calling the fighters a "terrorist group" and "smugglers."
The Panj border post is 190 kilometres south of the Tajikistan capital Dushanbe.
The clash took place early yesterday.
The fighters had crossed over from Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, the Tajik border guards said, adding that they killed one fighter and wounded another one.

Tajikistan, an impoverished central Asian ally of Moscow, shares a 1,344-kilometre border with Afghanistan, including areas controlled by the Taliban.
Last year Tajik border guards took part in 30 armed skirmishes with drug smugglers from Afghanistan, killing 16 armed fighters.