Iran's law enforcement forces have lost four more soldiers in a confrontation with drug traffickers in a desert area of eastern Iran, which lies on a major drug smuggling route from neighboring Afghanistan to Europe.

""In clashes between police and an illicit drug convoy headed from south to north, seven policemen were killed and four others were injured, who died later of their severe injuries,"" Colonel Seyyed Kazem Hashemabadi was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency on Saturday.
On Friday, a shoot-out broke out when security officials detected a group of armed bandits attempting to smuggle two tons of illicit drugs in Iran's South Khorasan Province.
Four members of the drug trafficking network were killed in the clashes, while one sustained serious injuries. Some of the smugglers were able to escape but left several vehicles, motorbikes, and some of their arms behind.
In July, Iran drafted a comprehensive multi-year plan to tighten security along its borders as part of its plan to crack down on terrorists and drug traffickers.
Iran lies on a major drug transit corridor — where militants, criminal organizations, and corrupt officials exploit opium poppy cultivation and drug trafficking as a reliable source of revenue and patronage.
Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has lost over 3,300 security personnel in its relentless counter-narcotics campaign.
(Source: Press TV)