Photo: Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security.
Four armed militants were killed on the Tajik-Afghan border on the night of January 18 as they attempted to illegally cross into Tajikistan, according to the press center of the Border Troops of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB).
The incident occurred at around 12:30 a.m. near border marker No. 151/2, in the left sector of the protected zone of the 7th border post, Khirmandjo, part of the Yol border detachment stationed in the Shamsiddin Shohin district. The intruders entered Tajik territory from the village of Darbandak in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province. Border guards spotted the group and ordered them to surrender, but the individuals refused and opened fire. All four were killed in the ensuing exchange.
Three Kalashnikov assault rifles, one foreign-made Cruz rifle, six magazines, 183 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles and pistols, three mobile phones, a radio transmitter, and a boat were recovered at the scene. No casualties among Tajik border guards were reported.
A criminal case has been opened under Articles 179 (“Terrorism”), 335 (“Illegal Crossing of the State Border of the Republic of Tajikistan”), and 195 (“Illegal Acquisition, Transfer, Storage, Transportation, or Carrying of Weapons, Ammunition, Explosives, or Explosive Devices”) of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code. An investigation is underway.
The Border Troops consider the killed individuals to be members of a terrorist organization. Sources cited by Amu.tv in Afghanistan, however, suggest they may have been drug traffickers.
Authorities say the situation along the state border remains under control. Border officials stated that they will “continue to use all available forces and means and deliver a lawful and resolute response to border violators.”
This was the fourth incident involving armed intruders on the Tajik-Afghan border since late November 2025. In two attacks on November 26 and 30, five Chinese citizens were killed and five others injured. On December 24, two Tajik border guards were killed during an armed clash.
In early December, the foreign ministers of Tajikistan and Afghanistan agreed to establish joint security committees and maintain regular contact between border officials. Responsibility for the attacks was placed on “biased groups” seeking to undermine trust between Kabul and Dushanbe.
