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Taliban troops in Afghanistan and Iranian border guards engaged in combat on Sunday; the Taliban confirmed one fatality and one injured border official. Teheran and the Taliban both laid the blame for firing first squarely on the other.
According to Meisam Barazandeh, the governor of Iran’s Hirmand county, “the conflict was brief and has concluded,” according to the Fars news agency.
What information do we have regarding the incident?
Conflicts reportedly broke out in the Shaghalak region of Hirmand country, in the southeast of Sistan-Baluchestan province, on the Iranian side of the border, according to the state-run Fars news agency.
There were “no deaths” on the Iranian side, according to Barazandeh, who added that “our forces provided the proper response.”
According to the state-run Tasnim news agency in Iran, Taliban forces opened fire on homes in the village of Dust Mohammad. This resulted in a “for several minutes” long exchange of fire.
Iranian media reported that the Taliban forces sought to hoist a Taliban flag in a location that is not on Afghan land, which is when shots were exchanged.
As the fighting grew more intense, local sources informed the Reuters news agency that residents living close to the border on the Afghan side fled.
The event was attributed to Iranian border guards by the Nimroz province of Afghanistan’s communications centre. The statement read, “Our border forces were patrolling in the Kang region of Nimroz province when Iranian border forces opened fire.”
The foreign ministry in Teheran announced last month that an Iranian border guard had passed away following a “incident” at a border crossing with Afghanistan. Additionally, Sistan-Baluchestan saw that incident.