Iranian police officer killed in clash with drug smugglers

An Iranian police officer was fatally shot in an armed clash with drug smugglers in the early hours of Tuesday in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The officer, identified as Sergeant Major Hosseinali Shakib, was on patrol in the city of Mehrestan when he approached two suspicious moving vehicles. But the smugglers opened fire on him and shot the officer injured.

The police officer was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds on the way to the medical center.

The assailants fled the scene, but efforts are underway to catch them.

Iran is a conduit for drug smugglers from neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe. Thousands of Iranian security forces have died in clashes with smugglers and terrorists in border provinces.

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