Tajikistan has said that three Chinese workers were killed when a drone "launched from Afghan territory" struck a camp in the Khatlon region late on Wednesday, calling on the interim Taliban administration in Kabul to take action to prevent further incidents.
The attack targeted the LLC Shohin SM workers’ camp near the 1st Border Guard Post “Istiqlol” in the Yol Border Detachment.
The Tajik foreign ministry said on Thursday that an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying grenades and firearms hit the site.
"The attack, carried out with firearms and a drone loaded with grenades, claimed the lives of three employees of Chinese nationality," it said in a statement.
The three victims were employees of the company and Chinese citizens.
The ministry claimed that “criminal groups” operating inside Afghanistan were responsible for the strike.
Rein in terrorists
The strike comes at a time when the Taliban administration in Afghanistan is already under pressure from Islamabad to rein in Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists operating from Kabul and carrying out terror attacks against Pakistan.
Dushanbe condemned the attack and urged Afghanistan’s interim Taliban administration to take “effective measures” to ensure stability and security along the border.
Several Chinese companies operate in Tajikistan, particularly in mining and natural resources, often located in the mountainous border areas.
The mountainous border region spans around 1,350 kilometres between the two countries.
One Chinese worker was killed last year in a similar attack near the Afghan border.
