Iran arrests seven Afghan border guards

Iran arrests seven Afghan border guards

2010-10-18 08:25:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Six Afghan petty officers and an army soldier were arrested by Iranian forces after they had illegally crossed the border, Iran's border police chief Hossein Zolfaqari said on Sunday.

Zolfaqari was quoted by the state-run Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that the Afghan border guards were intercepted inside Iran, but he did not specify the exact place or the date.

"Border guards arrested six petty officers and a soldier, who were armed, after they crossed the Sistan-Baluchestan border," Zolfaqari said, adding that the Afghan officers were taken into custody after a shoot-out between the forces.

Zolfaqari said the vehicle in which the Afghan officers were traveling had a false license plate and said some weapons were found inside, including six automatic weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

"The people arrested claimed they were patrolling the area and were looking for Taliban and also claimed they did not intend to cross into Iran," he added.

Iranian officials say the case against the Afghan officers is still under investigation and Zolfaqari did not say if they would be charged.

The border that separates Iran from Pakistan and Afghanistan is considered one of the world's most dangerous because it is the land of Sunni radical groups, drug traffickers and arms dealers. Through its porous mountain, Afghan drug goes to Europe and the Middle East.

Last May, in the same area, a suicide bombing carried out by a Islamic radical group claimed the lives of over 40 people, including two commanders of the Revolutionary Guards.

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