17 killed in clashes in Tajikistan

In contrast with neighbouring Afghanistan, the former Soviet Central Asian nation of Tajikistan rarely sees such bloodshed and the unrest is likely to unnerve the government.

Tajik officials blame Deputy Defense Minister Nazarzoda Abduhalim Mirzo (known as Khodzhi Khalim) for organizing the attacks.

Nine police were really wiped out in firearm attacks among the resources Dushanbe and of course the surrounding downtown area of Vahdat on Friday, police said.

“The operation to liquidate Nazarzoda’s terrorist group is continuing”, the ministry said in a statement.

The government announced later Friday that Nazarzoda had been relieved of his duties “in connection with a crime committed”.

The Tajik government accuses Nazarzoda of fighting alongside the United Tajik Opposition during a civil war that engulfed the country between 1992 and and 1997.

On Sunday, the ministry said that the situation in Dushanbe and Vahdat was “stable” and being controlled by state security forces.

Eight police officers were killed and at least five injured in Tajikistan on Friday in two separate shootouts with armed groups that could have been led by rogue law enforcement agents, police told AFP.

Attacks that killed eight officers blamed on group allegedly linked to the country’s opposition Islamic Revival Party.

“Although the significance of these events is unclear, they may be precursors to other acts of violence”, the embassy said in a statement.

Nazarzoda, a former rebel fighter, was brought into the Tajik armed forces under a deal to end the conflict.

Militants also managed to steal “a large quantity of weapons and ammunition” during the attacks, officials said.

Russian Federation supported Rakhmon during the civil war and still maintains a military base in Tajikistan with 6,000 troops. The party denied any link to the suspects.

Rakhmon faced embarrassment earlier this year when the U.S.-trained commander of the country’s special police forces declared himself a member of Islamic State.