DUSHANBE, September 24, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Report about eight killed militants and three wounded government troops does not correspondent to the facts, Thohir Normatov, the chef of the Interior Ministry staff, told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.

“There are no new casualties among the government forces,” said Normatov, “The information that three other militants were killed in the counterterrorist operation in Rasht is also not true.”

According to him, Tajik law enforcement authorities are currently documenting crimes committed by the armed group of Mirzokhouja Ahmadov and other persons and operation to hunt down Mullo Abdullo (Abdullo Rahimov), Mirzokhouja Ahmadov, Alovuddin Davlatov and their armed supporters is under way.

In the meantime, Russia’s news agency Itar-Tass reported today that according to reliable sources, three government troops were wounded and at least eight militants were killed in the counterterrorist operation carried out in Rasht.

We will recall that five supporters of former opposition commander Mirzokhouja Ahmadov were killed and one other was captured during the counterterrorist operation in Rasht on September 22.  The operation was launched after a September 19 attack on a military convoy that killed at least 25 soldiers of the Ministry of Defense.