Iran and Taliban forces clash in border area

Iranian media say Taliban forces opened fire on Iranian farmers thinking they violated the border, leading Iranian soldiers to intervene.

Aljazeera -Dec 1st 2021

By Maziar Motamedi

Tehran, Iran – Clashes erupted between Iranian soldiers and Taliban forces near the Afghanistan-Iran border, but appear to have led to no casualties and was later described as a “misunderstanding”.

Multiple videos on Wednesday showed Taliban troops mobilising. Gunfire can be heard while one shows Iranian forces firing artillery shells in response to Taliban fire.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim confirmed the battle in the village of Shaghalak in Hirmand county.

Tasnim, which has links with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said there are walled areas on Iranian soil near the border with Afghanistan in order to combat smuggling.

Some Iranian farmers passed the walls but were still inside Iran’s border when Taliban forces opened fire, thinking its side had been violated, the report said.

The fighting was over and Iranian authorities were discussing the situation with the Taliban, it added.