Iran fires mortar across border in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Iranian border guards today fired eight mortar shells into Pakistan's restive Balochistan province but no loss to life or property was reported, a security official said.

The firing incident occurred early morning when mortar shells landed in a border village of Panjgur district.

A security official said that at least eight mortars were fired across the border.

"Security forces were dispatched to the areas where the mortar fell. No loss occurred," he said on condition of anonymity.

Iranians occasionally fire across the border to foil bids by smugglers to cross the border or efforts by the anti-Shiite militants to sneak into Iran's volatile border regions, authorities say.

At least six mortar shells were fired by the Iranians last year in October, which had hit Pakistan's town of Mashkail.

The two countries share 900 kilometre long border, which is often used by criminal mafia to transport the cheap Iranian petrol and diesel into Pakistan and human traffickers to take immigrants to Turkey and Greece through Iran.