Afghan, Iranian Forces Clash On Border

September 14, 2011
Afghan officials say fighting erupted in western Afghanistan when Iranian security forces crossed the border and opened fire on Afghan border guards, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports.
 
Abdul Jabar Purdele, police chief in Afghanistan's Nimroz Province, told RFE/RL the shooting near the village of Khuja Abduraman lasted for about 30 minutes. He said no casualties were reported.
 
"Many incidents like this have occurred in the past several years. We believe the Iranians are trying to establish an illegal post inside Afghan territory," Purdele said.
 
"We are calling on the Afghan government to handle this situation," he said. "If the necessary measures are not taken, then these attacks on Afghanistan's sovereignty will continue."
 
Nimroz, a sparsely populated and underdeveloped province in southwestern Afghanistan, borders Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province, a drug-trafficking region where Afghan militants have carried out attacks in the past against Iranian security forces.