RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
August 27, 2018
Afghan officials on August 27 said a Tajik or Russian aircraft had bombed a border area in northeastern Afghan province of Takhar after a clash between gunmen and Tajik border guards, but both Tajik and Russian officials denied any involvement.
The air strike followed a firefight in Darqad district of Takhar Province near the border area, two Afghan officials said.
Khalil Asir, spokesman for Takhar provincial police, said two Tajik border guards were killed in the clash with Taliban militants.
Eight Taliban militants were killed and six others were wounded, Asir said.
Mohammad Jawid Hejri, the provincial governor’s spokesman, confirmed the incident, which broke out on August 26, but said the clash broke out between drug smugglers in Afghanistan and Tajik border guards.
Hejri said the identity of the drugs smugglers is not known and added that the warplane was either from Russia or Tajikistan.
He said the area targeted is outside of government’s control and is under Taliban control.
However, the Defense Ministry in Moscow told Russian news agency RIA that its military planes did not carry out any military operations near the Afghan-Tajik border.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, confirmed the clash and also said it broke out between drug smugglers and Tajik border guards. Mujahid said the aircraft bombed a forested area used by smugglers.
“We are looking into the incident, as Taliban fighters have no permission to clash with neighboring countries,” he said.
However, the Defense Ministry in Moscow told Russian news agency RIA that its military planes did not carry out any military operations near the Afghan-Tajik border.
A border guards spokesman in Dushanbe also said Tajikistan had not carried out any bombing and did not confirm the death of two border guards.
The official, who who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three Tajik forest rangers had been attacked by gunmen from Afghanistan. Two were killed while the third escaped, he said.
In a separate statement, Tajik Border Guards said they are looking for a group of 10 to 12 armed men who crossed the Panj River separating the country from Afghanistan on August 27. The men, armed with a hand-held grenade launcher and automatic rifles, opened fire on three forest rangers, killing two of them and injuring one.
Crossborder clashes are rare on Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan, compared with fighting along Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan.
But security in Takhar has deteriorated over the past few months and regular clashes have broken out between Afghan security forces and militant groups, including the Taliban.
At least 12 border police officers were killed earlier this month in a Taliban attack on the border town in Takhar’s Dasht-e Qala district.
Based on reporting by Reuters and tolonews.com
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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