Two shootouts leave 8 policemen, 9 gunmen dead in Tajikistan, officials say

Two separate shootouts with armed gangs in Tajikistan have left eight police officers and nine gunmen dead.

Police sources told AFP on Friday that at least five more officers were injured in the incidents that could have been led by rogue law enforcement agents.

The Tajik government has blamed the incident on the deputy defense minister and the opposition. "The terrorist group was led by deputy defence minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda," a police spokesman said.

In one of the incidents during the early hours of the day, a shootout took place on the outskirts of the capital, Dushanbe, a spokesman for the Tajik Interior Ministry said.

The other shootout occurred in the town of Vahdat, located just outside the capital, another police official said on condition of anonymity. The official said the leaders of the armed groups were alleged to be officers within police and the armed forces. The sources would not elaborate however.

Tajikistan is a landlocked country with about eight million people.It is the smallest and poorest country in Central Asia.

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