BAKU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Azerbaijani servicemen, including an officer, were killed on Saturday in a shootout on the Azerbaijan-Iran border involving a group of armed border violators, Azerbaijan's State Border Service said.
The incident happened when a border patrol unit tried to prevent three men from illegally crossing the border from Iran into Azerbaijan near a border checkpoint in the southeastern district of Yardimly, according to border authorities.
The border violators did not obey border guards' "stop" command, opened fire in response and wounded two of them. The wounded servicemen, a senior lieutenant and a junior ensign, were immediately taken to hospital where they later died of their injuries, the border service said in a statement.
The authorities said one of the border violators, an unidentified Iranian citizen, was arrested, while two others managed to escape. "A search operation is now ongoing to find them," the border service said.
Border guards discovered 10 kg of substance at the scene resembling narcotic drugs in appearance.
Iranian authorities had been informed of the incident, the border service added.
Armed incidents involving drug trafficking are a frequent occurrence on the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Enditem
