[ZERO] Heavy gunfire between Taliban militants and the Iranian military broke out at a shared border on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of at least two Iranian border guards and more wounded.
The flare-up between Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran comes amid a fierce dispute over water rights, specifically concerning access of drought-stricken Iran to the Helmand River.
Each side accused the other of opening fire first, with IRNA claiming that the Iranian side inflicted "heavy casualties and serious damage" on the Taliban side, but numbers of Afghan casualties have remained unclear.
Later in the day Saturday the situation was described as being under control, with Tehran officials warning against further incursions.
"The border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively respond to any border trespassing and aggression, and the current authorities of Afghanistan must be held accountable for their unmeasured and contrary actions to international principles," Iran’s police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, was quoted as saying in state media. |