This latest outbreak of violence comes at a delicate moment for Tajikistan's fragile peace process, currently on hold after the Islamic opposition withdrew from the National Reconciliation Commission last Thursday. The leader of the opposition, Said Abdullah Nouri, accused the governnent of dragging its feet on key provisions of the historic peace accord signed last June.

Before it'll rejoin the Commission, the opposition is demanding a prominent role in a new coalition government for the country's former spiritual leader, Akbar Turanjonzoda, who now lives in exile in Iran. It also wants quicker progress towards the integration of its former fighters with government troops into a single army.

It's not clear who was responsible for this latest attack, on Makhmoud Radzhapov's unit, but an opposition spokesman said it could be the work of what he called a third party opposed to rapprochement between the government and the opposition. Several months after they officially made peace, Tajikistan remains dangerously unstable, and the international community is concerned that the continuing stale-mate could lead to further violence.