KASHMAR A villager who had been taken prisoner by the Afghan bandits in the Kashmar area in Khorasan Province managed to escape on Sunday, an unnamed source told IRNA.

He said that the hostage had used his rifle in the armed escape from his captors.

The source quoted the man as saying that there were two bandits at the time of his escape, adding the rest of the team were not present at the time. He had been taken hostage about a month ago.

Iran is a major route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to markets in the Persian Gulf, Europe and beyond. Opium, heroin, hashish and morphine are hauled through the country and single busts involving a ton or more of illicit drugs are not uncommon.

Over the last Iranian calendar year which ended March 20, police seized 5.5 tons of heroin in the country.