Afghan asylum-seekers shot dead in Iran

UPI: Iranian security forces shot dead three asylum seekers trying to cross the border from Afghanistan, Afghan provincial officials said.

United Press International

ZARANJ, Afghanistan, July 28 (UPI) — Iranian security forces shot dead three asylum seekers trying to cross the border from Afghanistan, Afghan provincial officials said.

Provincial officials from the western Afghan province of Nimruz said Iranian security forces killed three Afghans and injured three others as they attempted to cross into Iran.

Nimruz officials said Afghanistan doesn’t have the capability to enforce security along the border with Iran. The provincial governor said Afghan officials have repeatedly urged their Iranian counterparts to stop targeting asylum seekers, reports Radio Zamaneh, a Persian news service in the Netherlands.

Afghans in the western provinces have sought asylum in Iran ever since communist forces took control of the Kabul government in 1978.

Iranian officials had no comment on the incident.

Iran is wary of activity along its eastern borders, however, following attacks from militants based in southern Pakistan.

Iran, meanwhile, is battling drug traffickers from Afghanistan traveling through Iran.

Tehran said it has spent more than $600 million on securing the border during the past two years.