KABUL -- The situation on the Turkmen-Afghan border has worsened in the past three years, Obid Ali, a specialist at the Kabul Analytical Centre, said recently, according to Radio Free Europe//Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Turkmen service.
The situation in the border zone has deteriorated because of the presence of multiple radical groups who seize highways, take hostages, rob civilians and assassinate civil servants to demonstrate their power, Ali said.
Northern Afghanistan remains a coveted prize for militants who would like to seize the economically significant infrastructure there, including power lines that carry Central Asian electricity, as well as the under-construction Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway, RFE/RL reported.