Iranian security forces killed 13 Afghan bandits and arrested nine others suspected of links with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia, state radio reported Monday.
Iranian forces then put nine of the bodies on display following two days of clashes in the mountainous region of Kashmar in the eastern border province of Khorassan, it said.
A military official cited by the radio said the men were carrying papers proving their ties to the Sunni Muslim Taliban, who now control most of Afghanistan after ousting President Burhanuddin Rabbani in 1996.
Kashmar has been the scene of violent protests in recent days after a gang of drug traffickers killed a father and his son before a number of local witnesses.
Iran is a major transshipment point for drugs coming from Afghanistan and Pakistan destined for markets in Europe and the Gulf, and has called on the international community to help deal with it.
Around 30 Afghans have been killed by Iranian security forces along the border in the past two weeks alone.
Iran's number one anti-drugs official Mohammed Fallah on Sunday warned that drug consumption in Iran had reached "alarming proportions."
In May, Iran's parliament voted to seal off the country's 940 kilometer (600-mile) border with Afghanistan in the bid to staunch the flow of narcotics.
Tehran continues to recognize Rabbani, who lives in Iran, as the Afghan head of state – TEHRAN (AFP)
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