Fighting erupted Tuesday in an autonomous region of Tajikistan after central government forces moved in on a former opposition warlord believed to be behind the killing of a top security general . At least 12 soldiers and 30 opposition fighters were killed , said a statement from Tajikistan 's security service . It said the military operation was continuing . Residents described continuous gunfire in Khorog , the capital of the Gorno-Badakshan region , which borders Afghanistan . They said they believed the number of casualties was higher than the official toll . Gorno-Badakshan was cut off Tuesday after communication lines , including cell phones and internet service , was severed . The violence stemmed from the death of Maj. Gen. Abdullo Nazarov , head of the regional branch of the State Committee on National Security , a successor to the Soviet KGB . Nazarov 's car was stopped by a group of unidentified people , according to Ria-Novosti , a Russian state-run news service . Nazarov was pulled out of the car and stabbed several times . He died on the way to hospital , Ria-Novosti said . Police arrested two suspects but were still seeking Tolib Ayombekov , the suspected leader of a smuggling ring of tobacco , precious jewels , and drugs , said the Central Asian News Service . The news agency said Ayombekov refused to surrender to police and instigated the attack against government forces . Tajikistan gained independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 but has been troubled ever since by bloody war , widespread corruption and poverty . Tensions remain high between the Tajik government in Dushanbe and the people of Gorno-Badakshan , who are of the Pamiri ethnic minority . The region was a stronghold of Islamist rebels during a five-year civil war in the 1990s that claimed thousand of lives . The war also divided people along ethnic and regional lines , and the Pamiris , by and large , sided with the opposition . A United Nations-brokered peace plan left President Emomali Rakhmon 's secular government in place but gave some of his Islamist opponents official jobs . But Rakhmon , backed by Moscow , has sought to consolidate power and stamp out remnants of radical Islam . Khorog residents said they received no warning of Tuesday 's fighting . People panicked as gunfire rang out . Journalist Mirzojalol Shohjamolov said a group of residents gathered in front of Khorog Square , near the government building , with signs that said : `` Stop military actions in Khorog . ''
Government forces clashed with opposition fighters in Gorno - Lori region . At least 42 people were killed . tensions have run high in the area ; ethnic Pamiris have been at odds with the government . The region was a stronghold for Islamist forces during a bloody civil war .