Six Tajik National Guard servicemen were killed and a number of others were injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in Rasht region in eastern Tajikistan Wednesday, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported Thursday.
"This afternoon, a mine in the Rasht region blew up a National Guard car with soldiers on board. What we know now is six people died," Itar-Tass quoted an official source from the health department as saying, Xinhua reported.
The authorities did not reveal the exact number of people injured in the mine blast.
Media reports said the blast was most probably related to a large-scale special operation in the Rasht region, 185 kms east of Dushanbe, to eliminate the illegal armed groups of former warlords opposition.
During the operation, the government security force has destroyed at least 16 militants and detained seven.
About one hour before the incident Wednesday, a military Mi-8 chopper of the Tajik National Guard crashed in the same region, killing at least 27 people, including seven servicemen of the National Guard and 20 servicemen of the "Alfa" special squad of the Tajik National Security Committee.
Preliminary reports from the Tajik Khovar news agency said technical failures may have caused the accident.