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Turkmen violence 'drug related' | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Authorities in Turkmenistan say they have "neutralised" a gang of drug traffickers in a security operation overnight in the capital Ashgabat. | |
The statement contradicted earlier media reports that security forces had been engaged in heavy gun battles with Islamist militants. | |
Some reports said at least 20 police officers had died in the fighting. | |
The claims are extremely difficult to confirm, as Turkmenistan is one of the world's most tightly controlled states. | |
'Sealed off' | |
The Central Asian nation borders Afghanistan to the east and is a known route for the global heroin trade. | |
In what analysts said was a rare confirmation of unrest in the ex-Soviet republic, the Turkmen foreign ministry said in a statement that "a criminal group involved in the illegal drug trade" had been "neutralised". | |
The ministry did not say whether there were any casualties, or if any traffickers had been detained. | |
Foreign media organisations earlier said that Islamic militants were involved in the fighting, though the ministry made no reference to this. | |
The neighbourhood where the fighting took place, in Ashgabat's northern suburbs, was sealed off until Sunday morning, an AFP reporter said. |