13 militants killed in Tajikistan crackdown

Dushanbe, Tajikistan: Thirteen militants were killed by Tajikistan security forces on Saturday, but the rebels refused to surrender, government officials said.

The crackdown followed a day of violence in which nine policemen and another 13 militants were killed in two separate attacks in the capital, Dushanbe, and in a nearby town.

"The militants were offered to surrender but they refused," an interior ministry spokesman told AFP.

"The operation of continues," he said of a joint police and army operation taking place on the ground and from the air.

Friday´s attacks targeted a police post on the outskirts of Dushanbe, and a police station in Vahdat, which lies some 20 kilometres (13 miles) to the east.

Militants also managed to steal "a large quantity of weapons and ammunition" from a defence ministry stockpile in Dushanbe, officials said. (AFP)