17 die in attack on Tajikistan border outpost

Published: November 06, 2019 11:25:07 | Updated: November 06, 2019 19:10:40

Uzbek soldiers search a car at a checkpoint on the border with Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley Uzbekistan , a region that embraces three countries, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. (File photo: AP)

Seventeen people were killed in an overnight shootout at an outpost on the Tajik-Uzbek border that was attacked by armed men wearing masks, Tajik authorities said on Wednesday.

The 20 attackers killed a border guard and a policeman before 15 of them were killed by return fire, Tajikistan’s National Security Committee said. The remaining five were captured, Reuters reported citing a statement.

It gave no other information about the attackers and said an investigation was underway into the incident, which happened 50 km (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Dushanbe.