DUSHANBE, July 24, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A large arms cache has reportedly been discovered in GBAO’s Vanj district.

According to the Ministry of Interior (MoI), local police found the cache, containing one assault rifle Kalashnikov, one carbine Bour, one Soviet-made rifle, six hand grenades F-1, four grenades RGD-5, one grenade M-46, two landmines, 400-gram TNT stick, 300 bullets of different caliber as well as fuses and detonators, in the Shirgovad area on July 23.

The source at a MoI says that 743 firearms, including 132 assault rifles Kalashnikov, 86 pistols, and 109 different rifles and carbines, have been confiscated from the population over the first six months of this year.  Since 1994, when president’s decree on voluntary handover and confiscation of illegally possessed weapons was issued, more than 31,500 firearms and various ammunitions have been confiscated from the population.