Iranian, Afghan forces clash along border

Kabul says Iranian patrol crossed border; civilian killed, 2 Iranians hurt

Afghanistan in pictures

Getty Images	Inside Afghanistan Scenes of everyday life in Afghanistan against a backdrop of war.
PANOS	Saving lives on the front line Photographer Erin Trieb spends six weeks with the U.S. Army's busiest trauma center in Afghanistan.
	Human toll of addiction A look at how narcotics have ravaged Afghanistan and a detox center helping users.
AP	On the front lines Soldiers are fighting to suppress the Taliban and win over the Afghan people.

INTERACTIVE

Key dates in the war
The origins of the war, the battles, and struggle for stability

Interactive

Torn by conflict
Afghanistan's tumultuous history

World Blog: Kabul, Afghanistan

What is the actual surge strategy?

Afghan Scouts learn to ‘be prepared!’

The reality of the war in Afghanistan

Most popular

• Most viewed

• Top rated

• Most e-mailed

Iran whistleblower silenced by deadly salad

Amid recession, meth menace evolves

Another woman emerges in Woods scandal

Held up for hold-up? Thief too late to rob bank

McChrystal: Let militants quit ‘with dignity’

Most viewed on msnbc.com

updated 12:13 p.m. ET April 20, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan police clashed with Iranian forces at the southwestern border between the two countries, leaving one civilian dead and two Iranian officers wounded, officials said Sunday.

The incident in the village of Pul-e-Abreshum in Nimroz province happened Saturday after an Iranian patrol entered Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Afghan police dispatched a unit to the village and a gunbattle ensued. A teacher from the village was killed during the firefight, said provincial police chief Gen. Ayub Badakhshi.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Two Iranian officers were wounded, the statement said.

The long and porous border between the two countries is used by smugglers to traffic drugs into Iran. Many Afghans also cross illegally into Iran from the area. Border clashes are common.

Separately, in eastern Kunar province, a rocket attack killed a 15-year old-boy and wounded five other children Sunday, said Abdul Sabur Allayar, the deputy provincial police chief.

He blamed "the enemies of Afghanistan" for the attack, which killed the children as they collected grass for their sheep in the provincial capital Asadabad.

In southern Kandahar province, clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban insurgents on Saturday and Sunday left six militants dead. Fourteen others were detained, said Shirin Shah, an Afghan army officer.

A policeman died and an Afghan soldier was wounded during the fighting, he said.

More than 1,000 people, mostly militants, have died this year in insurgency-related violence, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials. Many of those killed were civilians caught up in insurgent attacks.