Tajik border guards do not see ISIL presence on Afghan border - press service
DUSHANBE. Jan 29 (Interfax) - There are no ISIL (banned in Russia) fighters along Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan, the spokesman for the Tajik National Security Committee's Border Forces, Muhammad Ulughojayev, told Interfax on Tuesday.
"The Tajik National Security Committee's Border Forces are actively monitoring [...] the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan and are aware of the current situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Fighters of the international terrorist organization ISIL have not been seen near the Tajik-Afghan state border," Ulughojayev said.
Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov said on Monday that "many ISIL fighters are being airlifted by unidentified helicopters from the territory of Pakistan to the border with Tajikistan," where "there seem to be plans for massive provocations."
The border services of Tajikistan and Afghanistan have close and continuous cooperation, and Tajikistan will be duly notified if ISIL fighters appear on the border, Ulughojayev said.
He added that the Tajik Border Forces had enough men and hardware to deal with an escalation of tension on the border of Afghanistan and that "units of the Tajik Defense Ministry are deployed on the second line."
"As of this moment, there is no need to reinforce the Tajik-Afghan border because of the situation in Afghanistan," Ulughojayev said. The Tajik government is monitoring the border situation, and the border "will be reinforced in a timely manner if necessary," he said.
There have been no trespassing attempts, provocations, or incursions across the Tajik-Afghan border in the past 24 hours, Ulughojayev said.