DUSHANBE (TCA) — Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov has said that unidentified helicopters transported a large number of Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists from Pakistan to the border with Tajikistan, which is close to Russia’s southern borders, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reports.
Pakistan and Tajikistan are separated by Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor region.
The Russian deputy interior minister said on January 28 that there may be some preparations for a provocation that may affect Russia.
“Daesh fighters in massive quantities were transported from Pakistani territory to the border with Tajikistan. In that area, perhaps, the militants might stage massive provocations that would result in huge amounts of refugees fleeing the territory. This would have an impact on Russia,” Zubov said.
This comes after earlier, Russian Col. Gen. Andrey Novikov, the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Anti-Terrorism Centre, stated that Daesh terrorists were being transported to Afghanistan and Pakistan after facing defeat in Syria and Iraq.
Last year, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that US helicopters evacuated Daesh leaders from several areas across the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor to the country’s northeast. The US-led coalition, in turn, denied all accusations.
Tajikistan hosts the 201st Military Base, Russia’s largest military base abroad. The base is stationed in two separate locations in the capital Dushanbe and in Qurghonteppa in the Khatlon province, and has an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 troops.
