An hourlong gun battle erupted between the Taliban and Iranian border guards in the frontier area of Afghanistan's Nimroz Province, local sources told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
A Taliban source said the clash started on March 7 when Afghan farmers began digging a canal in the Sekhsar area of Nimroz's Kang district in the border area, prompting Iranian border guards to cross into Afghanistan to try and stop them.
According to the source, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue, the Taliban responded to the incursion of the Iranian border guards, which led to a gun fight during which a Taliban vehicle caught fire.
Unconfirmed reports said four Iranian border guards were killed in the clash. No Taliban casualties were reported.
Similar clashes have taken place in the past in the Afghan-Iranian border region.