USA deny the mysterious air strikes in Tajikistan

Russia, the United States and Tajikistan have denied being behind a series of mysterious air strikes that took place on Sunday on the Tajik-Afghan border, while the identity of the targets remains unknown. The 800-mile border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan consists of mountainous terrain. Unlike the Afghan-Pakistani border, which is fraught with skirmishes and gunfights, the Tajik-Afghan border is usually peaceful and poorly guarded. But on Sunday Aug.26, local officials on both sides of the Tajik-Afghan border reported that fighter jets conducted a series of air strikes.

Media reports in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe said Tajik border guards had a fire fight with Taliban fighters, killing eight but losing two officers in the process. However, a Tajik border police officer on Monday denied the media reports and said the border incident involved Tajik loggers who were attacked by unknown attackers from Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Afghan officials said that fighter jets bombed Afghan territory adjacent to the Tajik border. They did not know if the fighters were Russian or Tajiks.

Tajikistan has a nominal air force of no more than four light-duty, Czech-made fighter planes that have not been used for more than a decade.

This leaves Russia, which maintains an air base on the outskirts of Dushanbe, 100 miles from the Afghan border. On Monday, Moscow denied any involvement in the incident, as did Tajikistan.

Russian officials blamed the United States, saying the US-led NATO force in Afghanistan is known for regular air strikes across Afghanistan. Pentagon officials denied their involvement. Questioned by Kabul reporters, Afghan government representatives said that Afghanistan lacks the ability to monitor its airspace due to a lack of radar equipment and therefore called on the US-led NATO force to investigate. accident on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the identity of the people targeted in the alleged air raids is also in doubt. The Taliban on Monday denied engaging with Afghan or Tajik government forces along Afghanistan's northern borders, saying they had not authorized their fighters to operate in the area. It is also unknown whether the Taliban has engaged Tajik government troops in the past.

Some observers have said that the border skirmish may have been caused by smugglers regularly transporting drugs from Afghanistan to Russia or the Caspian Sea region via Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. However, no previous incidents of Russian, American or Tajik fighters deployed along the Afghan-Tajik border were reported to fight drug traffickers.

USA deny the mysterious air strikes in Tajikistan

| MONDO |