[Dawn] A clash with armed drug smugglers in southern Iran left four policemen dead, a government-owned Iranian newspaper said.The IRNA daily said gunfire erupted after police stopped a truck with smugglers on Wednesday morning in Manoujan district, about 620 miles south of Tehran.
The report said the gunmen escaped, leaving some 440 pounds of opium and hashish at the site. Thursday's report provided no further details.
Such clashes are common in the area, which is a known route for drugs destined for Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and Europe from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Iranian authorities confiscate hundreds of tons of narcotics -- mostly opium -- every year.