Dushanbe: Thirty-four Tajik troops have been
killed in two separate incidents during a military operation
against Islamic insurgents in the east of the Central Asian
state, military sources said on Thursday.
Twenty-eight troops were killed yesterday when a military
helicopter crashed in a possible militant strike, the sources
told a news agency, although public statements insisted only four were
killed in an accident.
"Not a single passenger survived the crash of the Mi-8
military helicopter yesterday," said a military source,
speaking on condition of anonymity, raising an earlier toll of
25.
A high-ranking Tajik military source, speaking on
condition of strict anonymity, said that it was possible that
the helicopter had been shot down by a missile fired by
Islamists from their mountain hideouts.
Another six troops were killed in a separate incident
caused by the accidental explosion of a mine yesterday,
according to a military source.
"The faulty placement of a mine led to an explosion that
killed six Tajik national guards," the source told a news agency, adding
that more than 10 officers were wounded in the incident.
PTI
