Two killed, four fled in Yazgulom

Several members of armed groups crossed into Tajikistan from Afghanistan and engaged in combat with border guards.

The press service of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan reported on April 26 that two “members of international terrorist organizations” were “neutralized,” and operational-search and investigative activities are underway. The statement did not specify which organization these individuals belonged to.

“On the morning of April 26 of this year, 2 members of international terrorist organizations illegally crossed the state border line between Tajikistan and Afghanistan in order to commit a terrorist act on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan at a protected section of the 11th border post of the Border Detachment ‘Darvaz’ in the village of Dashti Yazgulom in the Vanch district of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region,” the SCNS statement noted.

It was reported that “as a result of a joint anti-terrorist operation by the law enforcement agencies of the republic, the terrorists were neutralized.” The press service of the SCNS also reported that law enforcement agencies seized “2 Kalashnikov rifles, 2 foreign-made pistols, 8 hand grenades, 12 magazines with cartridges, 19 packages of explosives, 2 special communication devices, and 2 mobile phones belonging to the terrorists.”

Meanwhile, the news portal “Bomdod,” citing its sources, reported that on the night of April 26, 2023, an operation was conducted against an armed group that had crossed from Afghanistan in the territory of the rural jamoat of Yazgulom in the Vanch district of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. As a result of the operation, two armed militants were killed, and four escaped.

According to sources from “Bomdod,” the militants were hiding in Tajikistan, in a gorge near the village of Motraun. At the site of the confrontation with the militants, a black flag of the group “Jamaat Ansarullah” was found; the militants were dressed in black camouflage clothing, well-armed, and wore headbands with the inscription “Ansarullah.”

It is reported that several servicemen of the country’s border service were killed in the battle; however, there is currently no confirmation of this from official sources.

Earlier, Azda TV, citing its sources, reported that on the last day of Ramadan, several Tajik militants based in Afghanistan crossed into Tajikistan and opened fire on Tajik border guards, prompting law enforcement agencies to initiate a search operation in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the districts under republican subordination.