Drug smugglers killed in Tajikistan

Russian border guards based in Tajikistan say they've killed three armed Afghan smugglers.

They say the smugglers crossed from Afghanistan and opened fire on a border patrol about two hundred and forty kilometres south east of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

A rifle, ammunition and a radio were also reported to have been found.

The Russian border guards are operating under an agreement with the Tajik authorities in an attempt to stop the smuggling of drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and the West.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service