Eight suspected al-Qaeda members were killed in a clash between radical Islamists and government troops in Tajikistan, the Defence Ministry of the Central Asian Republic said on Tuesday, dpa reported.
Troops seized a large quantity of weapons during the firefight, which occurred 180 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe.
Among those killed was the suspected leader of the group, who is believed to have ordered an attack on a military convoy that claimed 26 lives in September.
There have been a a growing number of attacks recently in the largely mountainous former Soviet republic, which borders Afghanistan.