Baku, Azerbaijan, June 21
Trend:
At least two Iranian border guards have been killed in an armed clash along the country’s southeastern border in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
Warrant officer Mohsen Sharaki and soldier Jalal Behboudi were killed in the armed clash with drug smugglers last night, Iranian media outlets reported.
Reportedly, three border guards also were injured in the clash, which took place in Zabul Border Regiment.
Iranian Border Guard Commander Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei said that some 1,120 kilograms of illegal drugs were sized from the smugglers.
He added that two assailants were also killed and several others managed to escape.
Rezaei said the armed forces also managed to confiscate considerable amount of light and heavy weapons and munitions, military and telecommunication equipment.
Iran sits on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states. The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometers of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 percent of opium is smuggled.
The fight against drug trafficking annually costs Iran about $1 billion, according to the official estimates.
According to the statistics, there are about two million drug users in Iran.