RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

QURGHON-TEPPA, Tajikistan -- Tajik authorities say a blast near a military court in the country’s south has left one person dead.

The Interior Ministry said the explosion struck a school near the Khatlon military court in the southern city of Qurghon-Teppa, where thousands of Russian soldiers are based.

The Interior Ministry said a 67-year-old man, who worked as a guard at the school next to the court building, was killed by an explosive device that detonated on the evening of March 12.

It was unclear if the man -- identified as Hasanboi Rahmonov, an ethnic Uzbek -- had detonated the explosives himself.

Police cordoned off the site and said they were investigating the incident. Authorities did not provide further details.

Qurghon-Teppa, as well as Kulob and Dushanbe, are sites in Tajikistan, where some 7,000 troops from Russia's 201st Motorized Rifle Division are stationed.