14 Presidential Guards Die in Raid

More than 70 gunmen attacked the presidential guards’ headquarters in the southern outskirts of the capital, Dushanbe, killing 14 guards. Some were shot to death at point-blank range as they slept. The raid began in the early morning hours as heavily armed attackers stormed a barracks, where they shot to death five guards as they slept. More than 20 guards were wounded in the ensuing gun battle, which raged for an hour and a half before the attackers were driven away. Some gunmen also died, but no casualty figure was given. The assault rocks an already fragile peace in the former Soviet republic, which is trying to emerge from a bloody four-year civil war. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.