DUSHANBE, August 6, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- The funeral of the deputy commander of the police special unit (OMON), Lieutenant-Colonel Farrukh Zaripov, was held in Dushanbe on August 5.

An official source at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) says Lieutenant-Colonel Zaripov was killed during a special operation carried out by government forces in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on July 24.

According to him, the body of Farrukh Zaripov was found in the Panj River on Afghan territory by local residents at the end of last week and handed over to the Tajik side.

The clashes began in Khorog on July 24 when government forces launched a military operation against what it called “militants” following the murder of the regional security chief Abdullo Nazarov on July 21.

The authorities have blamed Tolib Ayombekov, a former warlord from the civil war, for the murder of Abdullo Nazarov.

According to some media sources, fighting that occurred in Khorog last week has left at least 17 soldiers, 30 militants, and some 20 civilians dead.

The authorities are still demanding that four people it considers responsible for the assassination be handed over to face justice.