DUSHANBE, July 24, 2012, Asia-Plus – The government forces are reportedly incurring losses in Gorno Badakhshan.

The Russian news agency, Itar Tass, reports that a source close to special operation headquarters told the news agency that nine servicemen were killed and 25 others were wounded in a special operation targeting a group suspected of involvement in the killing of the chief of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office in Gorno Badakhshan.

The operation, involving armored personnel carriers and helicopters, was launched in Khorog, the administrative center of Gorno Badakhshan Tuesday morning.

Several members of illegal armed groups were killed and several others were detained, including five Afghans, Itar Tass reported.

Tajik daily newspaper, Imrouz-News, reports that concentration of armed persons is observed in the area of the Shiva Lake in Afghan Shignan. Probably some 200 militants have concentrated there, Imrouz-News said. The Khorog-Dushanbe highway is closed for traffic.

Meanwhile, the authorities are reportedly no in hurry to evacuate the civilian population. The BBC’s Russian Service says experts attribute that to the fact that Gorno Badakhshan has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with actions of local authorities, accusing them of corruption and cruel treatment.

Local authorities in Gorno Badakhshan reportedly have less influence than informal leaders of the region. The BBC reports that according to some experts, a large-scale operation conducted by the official Dushanbe in the region looks like an action of deterrence rather then an operation for detention of several criminal suspected of having killed the general of special services.

The chief of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office in Gorno Badakhshan, Major-General Abdullo Nazarov, 56, was reportedly stabbed to death on the afternoon of July 21. Two suspects were reported arrested on July 23. Investigators earlier linked the killing to illegal tobacco business.