DUSHANBE. July 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Terrorists from al Qaeda and other extremist organizations may try to enter Tajikistan from Afghanistan, Major General Sergei Zhilkin, chief-of-staff of the Russian border guard group, told Interfax.
Al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are currently looking for shelter in remote mountainous regions of Afghanistan, he said.
"Some of them may try to violate the Tajik-Afghan border. This especially concerns the difficult mountainous parts of the border, such as areas near the Khorog and Kalai-Khumb border guard units," he said.
At the same time, Zhilkin said he has no information about the large Taliban group, which, according to some media reports, is allegedly hiding in mountainous regions of Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan.
"We met with the Afghan colleagues of the Khorog border guard unit and information about the presence of al Qaeda rebels near the Tajik border in that area was not confirmed," he said.
According to the agencies' plan, Afghan border guards will warn their Russian colleagues in case al Qaeda rebels appear near Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan, Zhilkin said.
He noted that Russian border guards have intensified security at the Tajik-Afghan border, especially in the more difficult mountainous areas.
"Additional forces from the reserve have been sent to the Pamir area. In this manner, we have tightly sealed off the enemy's possible entry points," he said.
At the same time, he did not rule out that terrorists could cross the border using other means. "They could cross not only through the 'green border,' but they can also legally obtain documents and cross the border through checkpoints, enter Tajikistan, and then follow their route," Zhilkin said.