3 Chinese Workers Killed in Border Attack in Tajikistan

Afghanistan expressed “deep regret” on Friday and issued a strong condemnation of a cross-border attack into neighboring Tajikistan that left three Chinese workers dead and a fourth injured.

According to Deputy Spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal of Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, an initial assessment indicated that the incident involved “elements attempting to provoke chaos, instability and distrust among countries in the region.”

The statement stressed Afghanistan’s readiness to cooperate fully with Tajikistan through information sharing, technical coordination and joint evaluation to determine the circumstances of the attack.

A day earlier, the Tajik Foreign Ministry in Dushanbe reported that three Chinese nationals were killed when unidentified assailants crossed over from Afghanistan and opened fire.

The victims were employed by a gold-mining company operating in the Shamsiddin Shohin district near the Afghan border in southeastern Tajikistan. The ministry attributed the attack to armed criminal groups.

The incident threatens to heighten regional security concerns, particularly along the porous Afghan–Tajik frontier, which has seen periodic violence and increased criminal activity since the shift in Afghanistan’s political landscape.