The Islamic State group (IS) has said it was responsible for an attack in Tajikistan on Sunday, in which four foreign tourists were killed.
Two Americans, a Swiss and a Dutch national died when a car hit them in the Danghara district, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Dushanbe.
Three other tourists were also injured.
This is the first time IS has claimed an attack in Tajikistan, but the group has not provided proof of its claim.
Two people suspected of involvement were later killed by authorities in a special operation. Another four were arrested in the same operation and a damaged car believed to have been involved was recovered.
A further three suspects were “rendered harmless” after being traced to a village, officials said. It is unclear exactly what this means, however, Prague-based privately-owned Tajik news website Akhbor suggested they had been killed.
IS later said it had carried out the attack on “citizens of the crusader coalition”.
IS efforts in Central Asia
By Mina Al-Lami, BBC Monitoring
The Islamic State group (IS) isn't known to have a presence in Tajikistan. However, the group has had members from the country, and from other Central Asian states. Tajik authorities have in the past arrested alleged IS recruiters or sympathisers.
In May 2015, a former member of Tajikistan's…
