Patterns of Global Terrorism 1996 - Tajikistan

Unidentified assailants conducted attacks against Russian servicemen stationed in Tajikistan, as well as their dependents. On 4 June several gunmen shot and killed two Russian servicemen's wives while the victims were visiting a cemetery in Dushanbe. No one claimed responsibility. On 15 August a remote-controlled explosive device with 2.5 pounds of TNT destroyed a Russian military truck. One serviceman was killed and one was wounded. On 20 November gunmen shot at two Russian servicemen getting off a bus in a Dushanbe neighborhood. Both servicemen were seriously wounded. Two days later assailants ambushed a bus of Russian border guards in Dushanbe using grenade launchers and handgrenades, killing the bus driver and injuring several border guards. On 20 December members of an armed independent gang kidnapped UN and other officials and demanded that several of their supporters be returned to them. The hostages were subsequently released.