Three Iranian bordersecurity men killed

Three Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with armed drug traffickers near the border with Pakistan, Iranian media reported today, citing a border official. Two drug traffickers were also killed in the clash near the region of Koshtegan in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, Colonel Mehdi Mansourzadeh said. Mansourzadeh said Iran had seized 50 tonnes of various drugs in the frontier regions with Afghanistan and Pakistan during the past six months. Iran is a major transit route for drugs trafficked from leading narcotics producer Afghanistan, with much of the substances bound for Western countries.