China says armed attack on Tajik-Afghan border kills three of its nationals

An armed attack killed three Chinese citizens in Tajikistan on the Central Asian nation's border with Afghanistan, China's embassy in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe said on Friday.



One Chinese national was also injured in the attack in the southwestern province of Khatlon on Wednesday, the embassy added, urging citizens to evacuate the border area.



It did not identify the perpetrators, but said China had called for Tajikistan to investigate.



The three dead were all employed by a company, LLC Shahin SM targeted in the attack, Tajikistan's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.



It added that the attack, launched from Afghanistan, made use of an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with grenades.



In a statement, Afghanistan's foreign ministry said, "The circle involved in this incident is one that makes efforts to create chaos, instability and distrust in the region," but it did not identify the group.