Tajikistan continues operation against anti-govt groups in Rasht district
DUSHANBE. September 23. KAZINFORM Tajikistan's government forces continue a large-scale operation to neutralize anti-government groups in the Rasht district, a number of militants have been killed or detained, an informed source in the country's law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass on Wednesday; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.
Heads of the country's law enforcement agencies however refuse to talk to journalists fearing possible information leaks. So, there are no immediate reports on the strength of the government forces and the venue of the operation. It is quite probable that telephone and cellular communications have been cut off in the region due to this reason.
The operation was launched two days after an ambush on a government military convoy, the deadliest attack on security forces since the civic war of 1992-1997. The military convoy was attacked near Rasht district, an area about 80 kilometers north of the Afghan border. The attackers, which included militants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia's volatile southern region of Chechnya, were led by Mullo Abdullo, a radical Islamic commander who took an active part in the civil war. Another warlord, Alovuddin Davlatov, is also suspected to have taken part in the attack, in which 25 government troops were killed and more than a dozen wounded.
By now, a total of 28 militants have been reported killed.