8 soldiers killed in clashes in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) -- A security services officer in Tajikistan says at least eight soldiers have been killed in clashes with an armed group suspected in the recent death of a general.

The official says the fighting took place Tuesday morning after the army deployed troops in the mountainous semi-autonomous Gorno-Badakhsan province bordering Afghanistan.

He says members of the armed group were also killed, but could not specify how many. He requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media on this issue.

Abdullo Nazarov, a general with Tajikistan's national intelligence service, was stabbed to death Saturday night some 520 kilometers (miles) east of the capital, Dushanbe.

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