Three Chinese citizens died following a night-time armed drone and gun attack on a workers' camp run by Tajik-Chinese gold extraction company Shokhin SM conducted from across the Tajik-Afghan border, Tajikistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said on November 27, describing an incident that took place the day before.

The attack occurred in the wake of a first-ever Tajik “neutralisation” of alleged smugglers with a drone strike, carried out a week ago by Tajik border services, as described in a Tajik TV report. Two smugglers crossing into Tajikistan from Afghanistan were “neutralised” in Hamadoni district in the southern province of Khatlon and drugs were seized.

The employees in the attack on the mining company were killed in proximity to a gold extraction site in Shamsiddin Shokhin district, also in Khatlon province, the Tajik foreign affairs ministry added.

The drone was thought to have been armed with grenades.

The ministry stated: “Despite the Tajik side's consistent efforts to maintain security and create an atmosphere of mutually beneficial cooperation in the border regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, criminal groups operating in the neighbouring country continue to commit acts aimed at destabilising the situation in the border regions.

“The Tajik side, expressing deep concern, strongly condemns these vile actions of criminal groups and calls on the current Afghan authorities to take effective measures to ensure stability and security on the state border of the two neighbouring countries.”

Last week, a rare several-day visit to Kabul for talks with Taliban officials was made by a 14-member Tajik delegation of senior diplomats and security officials.

Afghan media cited sources as saying that at the arranged talks, the parties discussed security, expanding ties, border issues and strengthening the common border. There have been some minor armed clashes in recent times between Tajik troops and Taliban militants along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border, which runs to 1,357-kilometres (843 miles).

During the talks, representatives of the Taliban administration ruling Afghanistan requested that Tajikistan grant them control of the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe, according to a report by Omu TV.