SHURO-OBOD, Tajikistan: Gunmen from Afghanistan have released two Tajik road workers kidnapped in a cross-border raid last week, Tajikistan’s border guard service said on Monday. Their release was negotiated, a spokesman for the service said by telephone. The attack, blamed by the regional government on drug smugglers, took place last Friday near the town of Shuro-obod in southeastern Tajikistan and prompted a temporary closure of the main road connecting Tajikistan and China. The impoverished former Soviet republic routinely reports incidents related to drug smugglers crossing its border with Afghanistan. One border guard died in a firefight with a small group of militants this month. (Reporting by Nazarali Pirnazarov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Reuters .jpg)
