Unexploded antitank shell found at Lohour training grounds doesn’t pertain to Russian military base

DUSHANBE, April 22, 2011, Asia-Plus -- An antitank shell that exploded in Roudaki district on April 20 following careless treatment does not pertain to the Russian military base in Tajikistan, Dmitry Matushkin, an assistant to the commander of the Russian base in Tajikistan, stated Thursday afternoon.

A statement was made in connection with the fact that part of the Lohour training grounds in Roudaki district is used by the Russian military base for training of personnel. 

“All shells are under strict control.  During live-fire missions, observers control the direction of gunfire using high-power binoculars and artillery stereoscopic telescopes.  They fix all unexploded shells that are destroyed after the live-fire missions, Matushkin said.

Russia established the 201st military base in Tajikistan in 2004 with a contingent of several thousand personnel from a motorized infantry division stationed in Tajikistan.

We will recall that six persons were wounded in Roudaki district on April 20 after an antitank shell exploded because of careless treatment.  According to Tajik law enforcement authorities, a 38-year-old entrepreneur Umar Saidov found an unexploded antitank shell at the Lohour training grounds and brought it to the local market to show to his friends.  The explosion reportedly occurred after Saidov threw the shell to one of his friends just for fun but the last failed to catch it.