DUSHANBE, September 13, 2008 (AFP) - Afghan drug smugglers clashed overnight with border guards in Tajikistan leaving two of the Tajiks dead after a two-hour gun battle, an official said Saturday.

The clash began after 'approximately 18 to 20 armed Afghans entered the territory of Tajikistan with the goal of transporting a large shipment of narcotics from Afghanistan,' a border guard spokesman told AFP.

A patrol consisting of three Tajik border guards opened fire on the Afghans, and two were killed in the ensuing two-hour battle, along with an unknown number of smugglers, he said.

Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, is one of the main routes for drug transit from Afghanistan, the world's number one opium producer. The two countries share a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border.

Last month, the United States gave 13.4 million dollars (9.5 million euros) to Tajikistan to help the country fight drug trafficking from Afghanistan and step up security.