close
close

The Taliban say there were explosions and shootings in Iran earlier this month that killed at least two Afghans

The Taliban say there were explosions and shootings in Iran earlier this month that killed at least two Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan – At least two Afghans were killed in explosions and shootings in Iran, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Thursday.

Iran denied that the shooting took place near Saravan, a town in the country’s restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which borders Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

A high-ranking Taliban commission has been investigating the incident for several weeks.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the commission determined that the targets of the explosions and shootings were Afghans in the Kalgan Valley in Iranian territory. He did not say who was responsible for the attack.

“As of now, the commission has transported the bodies of two martyrs and 34 eyewitnesses, some of whom were injured in the incident,” the spokesman said. “Some of the remaining injured are in Iran and Pakistan and the Commission is actively working to locate and transfer them (to Afghanistan).”

The casualty figures are much lower than those reported by HalVash, a Baloch advocacy group that focuses broadly on Iran. It released reports of the shooting, citing two unidentified witnesses and others who said at least several dozen people were killed and more injured.

HalVash alleged that Iranian security forces used both firearms and rocket-propelled grenades in the attack.

Large numbers of Afghans have called Iran home for decades, starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, through the first Taliban rule, the US-led invasion in 2003 and the Taliban takeover of the country in 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops and NATO.

The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that there are 3.8 million displaced people in Iran, the vast majority of whom are Afghans. Some in Iran suggest the number of Afghans is even higher.

But anti-Afghan rhetoric regarding migrants has intensified in Iran in recent months as Western sanctions weaken the country’s economy and the country’s police chief said about 2 million migrants would be deported over the next six months.

Taliban spokesman Fitrat said the situation abroad was unclear because the Taliban did not have access to the Kalgan Valley area. He added that it was also unclear whether the people remaining there were dead or injured.