Tajik government forces have launched an operation in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous province targeting a group suspected of involvement in the killing of a top officer of the State Committee for National Security.
The operation was reported taking place on July 24 in Khorugh, the administrative center of Gorno-Badakhashan.
According to an official statement, special units were taking part in the operation targeting Tolib Ayombekov, a former opposition commander who is now a chief of the Ishkoshim border district on the Pamir section of the Tajik-Afghan border.
All phone lines in the region have reportedly been cut.
General Abdullo Nazarov, 56, was reportedly stabbed to death on July 21 while visiting the region.
Two suspects were reported arrested on July 23.
Investigators earlier linked the killing to tobacco smuggling.
With reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS