Casualties as Afghan, Iranian border forces clash for hours

KABUL(Pajhwok): Afghan and Iranian security officials on Saturday accused each other of starting first a border clash that lasted several hours and left several dead and wounded.

The Afghan Ministry of Interior said Iranian border forces opened fire in the direction of Afghanistan in the vicinity of Nimroz province and in the ensuing clash, one security guard on each side were killed and several others were wounded.

Nimroz police spokesman Gul Mohammad Qudrat said the clash erupted between Afghan and Iranian border forces in the border area of Makki village of Kang district at around 11am and continued for several hours.

According to him, the Afghan forces used light weapons, but the Iranian forces fired rockets that landed near the former airport of Zaranj city, the capital of Nimroz province.

Abdul Nafi Takkor, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, wrote on his Twitter page: “Today, the Iranian border forces opened fire on the Afghan side, which was met with a reciprocal response. One person on each side were killed and several others injured.”

But he did not know the exact number of the injured as the clash was just ended. He added that the Islamic Emirate did not favor clashes and the issue had reached the leaders of both countries and now the situation was heading to normalcy.

Second border division commander Maulvi Zarqawi Abu Azzam told Pajhwok that Iranian border guards fired on people crossing the Kang border. “People complained to us. We went there and they (Iranians) also started firing at us, we fired in defense and the clash started.”

He added that the fighting broke out at 10am in the villages of Makki and Sasoli and continued until 4:30pm, accusing Iranian forces of firing rockets that hit people’s houses and their posts.

“The clash has just ended, the exact number of casualties is not yet known, but six people from the Islamic Emirate were injured and two people were killed at Makki checkpoint. A civilian car was hit by an Iranian rocket and one person was killed. Some civilians have been killed in their homes.”

He claimed Iranian border guards had brought a lot of supplies to the border and were provoking Afghan forces for a fight, but they were ordered not to fight. “They were provoking us and forced us to fight, they fired at our border road”.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Inayatullah Khwarazmi also wrote on his Twitter page: “Unfortunately, the Iranian forces today once again started firing on the border areas of Kang district. The Islamic Emirate considers dialogue a reasonable way for any problem, negative measures and looking for excuses for war are not in the interest of any side.”

Tehran Times reported that three Iranian border guards were killed in the clash and as a result the Abrisham Bridge (Silk Bridge), the busiest border between Iran and Afghanistan, has been closed.

According to Tehran Times, a senior Iranian police officer put the blame on the Taliban forces for the incident.

Qassem Rezaei said Taliban forces started shooting at the Sasoli police station about 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. He added, “They were faced with fierce reaction by (Iranian) border guards.”

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