Tajik authorities said Tuesday that 42 people were killed in a clash between government troops and opposition fighters in southeastern Tajikistan.

Among the dead were 12 Tajik security officers and 30 militants, the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) said in a statement, adding that another 23 government troops were wounded.

In the fighting, which took place in Khorog, capital of the autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan, 40 militants were captured, including eight Afghans, the committee added.

The skirmish was part of an operation the government launched early Tuesday to hunt down opposition warlord Tolib Ayombekov, who is tagged as a prime suspect in the Saturday killing of Maj. Gen. Abdullo Nazarov, head of the GKNB's Gorno-Badakhshan branch.

Nazarov was dragged out of his car and stabbed to death by unknown perpetrators in a mountainous area neighboring Afghanistan.

Security sources said that government troops were expected to continue the operation on Wednesday.

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