MOSCOW. Nov 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's 201st division in Tajikistan has stepped up security due to the Taliban's threats to use weapons of mass destruction.
"The corresponding instructions have been given and additional security measures have been taken," Lieutenant General Vladimir Khvostov, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's radiation, chemical and biological protection force, told reporters on Tuesday.
At the same time, "no extra radiation, chemical or biological units have been sent to the region," he said. "We do not see such a need as yet," Khvostov said.
Speaking about the situation in Chechnya, Khvostov said that "the Chechen rebels tried to use biological weapons" against federal units many times during the second Chechen campaign. "This danger exists now, too," he said.
In this connection, Khvostov stressed that radiation, chemical and biological protection units "are ready to react to the possible use of any weapons in Chechnya, both chemical and biological."