Kyrgyz border guards said a group of six gunmen who infiltrated into Kyrgyzstan from Tajikistan attacked the Lyakkan border post in Tajikistan's northern Isfarin district, killing two border guards, injuring a customs officer, and seizing 19 automatic rifles, a machinegun and cartridges.
"More personnel have been deployed at all border and customs posts along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, and control over cars and people crossing the border has been toughened," the Tajik service said.
The Kyrgyz authorities were also reported to have sent troops into the area.
The gunmen headed to Kyrgyzstan's Batken region in the southern part of the Fergana Valley, about 700 kilometers (440 miles) southwest of the capital, Bishkek. When their Opel overturned, they hijacked a Mercedes Benz, killing the driver. Along the way to Osh, 100 kilometers (over 62 miles) from Batken, they attacked Kyrgyzstan's Putlon border post, killing one and wounding another border guard.
The Tajik Interior Ministry said the raiding group had come from Kyrgyzstan, but confirmed the casualty toll.
"Two border-guards were killed and one injured in the ensuing shootout with the armed people," the ministry said.
Kyrgyz border guards also said the same group had attacked a mobile border post Ak-Turpak, adding that two locals had been killed in a shootout.
Eye witnesses in Kyrgyzstan said the gunmen were traveling in a Mercedes and Opel. Then they left the Mercedes with 17 automatic rifles in it and walked in the direction of mountains.
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which share the Fergana Valley, all have sent troops into the area.
The countries have seen a rise in Islamist extremism and popular unrests fueled by economic difficulties following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Uzbek authorities blamed the May 2005 uprising in Andijan, on the border with Kyrgyzstan, on Islamic extremist groups linked to international terrorist organizations. Official statistics said 187 people died in the ensuing violence, but human rights groups said about 700 civilians died as a result of a violent crackdown by security forces and police.
