Three Chinese were murdered in a drone-assisted strike on the Tajikistan-Afghan border.

Dushanbe (The Post) Three Chinese laborers were slain in southern Tajikistan during a cross-border assault conducted from Afghanistan, Tajik police announced on Thursday.

The attack targeted workers of a Chinese firm operating near the distant border and used both weapons and a drone carrying explosives.

“The attack, carried out with firearms and a drone loaded with grenades, claimed the lives of three Chinese employees,” the Tajik foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also stated that criminal groups headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan continue to perform activities aimed at destabilising border regions. Militants operate along the rocky 1,350-kilometer (840-mile) border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Tensions between Dushanbe and the Taliban-led government in Kabul have remained high since the Taliban reclaimed control in 2021. President Emomali Rahmon, who has been in office since 1992, has regularly chastised the Taliban and encouraged them to respect the rights of ethnic Tajiks in Afghanistan, who account for almost a quarter of the country’s 40 million people.

Several Chinese businesses are active in Tajikistan’s distant mining and natural resource industries, especially in difficult border areas. Last year, a similar incident near the Afghan border killed one Chinese worker, creating more concerns about the safety of international investors.