Iranians, Afghans clash again at common border

Robert Besser
04 Aug 2022, 06 GMT+10

This week, Iranian media reported that the country's border guards clashed with the Afghan Taliban in the latest border incident since the Taliban regained power in neighboring Afghanistan
Meisam Barazandeh, governor of the border country of Hirmand in eastern Iran, said that the incident is under investigation, but did not provide details
The Taliban fired on houses in the area of Shoqalak in Iran, across the border from Afghanistan's Nimruz province, said Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency

TEHRAN, Iran: This week, Iranian media reported that the country's border guards clashed with the Afghan Taliban in the latest border incident since the Taliban regained power in neighboring Afghanistan last year.

According to the state IRNA news agency, Meisam Barazandeh, governor of the border country of Hirmand in eastern Iran, said that the incident is under investigation, but did not provide details.

The Taliban fired on houses in the area of Shoqalak in Iran, across the border from Afghanistan's Nimruz province, said Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is close to the country's Revolutionary Guard.

Taliban forces also tried to raise the Taliban flag in territory that is not part of Afghanistan, the agency added, while quoting Majid Mirahmadi, Iran's deputy interior minister, who said that the Taliban first opened fire on Iranian guards, forcing them to return fire.

A similar clash took place earlier because the Taliban do not respect the "geographical and official border" between the two countries, Mirahmadi added.

Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021, clashes between Iranian security forces and Afghan Taliban forces have occurred in areas along the border, often over local issues, such as disputes over farmland, water or smuggling.

In December, the Afghan Taliban seized several checkpoints on the Iranian side, but soon withdrew, and both sides called the incident a "misunderstanding."

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