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6 Afghan drug traffickers killed in border clash

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-17 16:31

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan - Tajikistan says six Afghan drug traffickers have been killed in a clash with border troops as they tried to smuggle in about 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of drugs.

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Border service spokesman Khushnud Rakhmatullayev said Tuesday the traffickers were armed with four Kalashnikov rifles and more than 450 rounds of ammunition.

Rakhmatullayev said no border guards were killed in the clash.

This mountainous former Soviet republic is a major route for trafficking drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and further into Europe. Tajikistan's armed forces struggle to police the largely unmanned 810-mile (1,300-kilometer) border and clash frequently with Afghan drug dealers.