IRANIAN POLICE KILL 17 AFGHAN DRUG SMUGGLERS

TEHRAN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Iranian police killed 17 Afghan drug
smugglers in four separate armed clashes, the daily Kayhan reported on
Wednesday.

In different clashes near the Afghan border last week, two Iranian
policemen were also killed, it quoted a police official as saying.

Police seized 1,754 kg (3,870 lb) of opium and morphine from the
smugglers in the northeastern province of Khorasan which borders
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

Iran is a major transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan and
Pakistan -- the ``Golden Cresent'' -- to Europe and oil-rich Gulf Arab
states.

Iranian officials say there are some 1.4 million drug addicts in this
country of 60 million.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry