DUSHANBE. June 14 (Interfax) - Tajik policemen stopped Afghan drug traffickers in an armed clash on the border with Afghanistan and seized over 100 kilograms of marijuana, the Tajik Interior Ministry reported on Wednesday.
The incident occurred last night on the Shuroabad stretch of the Tajik-Afghan border 230 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
"Drug traffickers offered armed resistance when Tajik policemen attempted to detain them. Police fired shots which made the gunmen retreat to Afghanistan," the Tajik Interior Ministry said.
"The Afghans offered fierce armed resistance. The shooting continued for more than two hours and then the gunmen retreated back to Afghanistan," it said.
It was the second attack on border guards this month on the Shuroabad stretch of the 1,344-kilometer Tajik-Afghan border. The first one occurred on June 6, when 90 kilograms of marijuana was seized.
In all, 4.2 tonnes of illicit drugs were seized in Tajikistan last year.