Clashes between Taliban fighters and Iranian security forces over a "border misunderstanding" have ended. Fighting that broke out in Konjak, Nimroz province on the Afghanistan-Iran border Wednesday at around midday, appear to have led to no casualties.
Taliban authorities reportedly claimed on Thursday that Iranian forces had suffered at least nine casualties during clashes on the Afghanistan-Iran border after fuel smuggling attempts from the Iranian side. Local authorities also said the Taliban seized three Iranian check posts.
Iran's Tasnim News Agency said the Taliban was first to open fire and Iranian officials are meeting Taliban to discuss the dispute between the neighbours. The semi-official Tasnim denied reports about the capture of an Iranian border camp by Taliban fighters. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement that clash was due to misunderstanding.
Residents in southwestern Afghanistan said that Iranian forces had entered Afghanistan following the exchange of fire. Videos of Taliban troops moving towards the border and Iranian forces firing in response have come out. Tasnim said that Iran's border forces now have complete control over the country’s borders.
Iran and Afghanistan share a 921 km border. Iran has not recognised the Taliban government, which remains in power in Afghanitan since the withdrawal of US forces in August. There have been longstanding tensions along the border, which has active smuggling routes and thousands of refugees, says Reuters.
