Afghanistan: Iran accused as mines are found in Taliban cache

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — Iran was accused of supplying weapons to the Taliban after security forces found dozens of Iranian-made mines in a rebel cache in western Afghanistan.

Afghan police and intelligence agents raided a Taliban compound in Farah province on Thursday and discovered 130 mines, 60 of which were made in Iran, Farah governor Mohyiddin Balouch told AFP.

When asked who could be behind the supply of weapons he replied: "It is the Iran government." He added: "We have intelligence reports that these mines had recently entered Farah from Iran."

He said: "We know that there is a government in Iran which has controls over the borders. Without the knowledge of the Iranian government it is difficult to send weapons out."

United States and NATO officials have also in the past said that Iranian weapons were being supplied to the extremist Taliban, which is waging a bloody insurgency against Afghanistan's US-backed President Hamid Karzai,

However, senior Afghan government officials including Karzai have repeatedly dismissed the claims, saying there was no proof.

The Taliban, who were in goverment from 1996 until being ousted by Western forces in 2001, are trying to topple the Karzai government and remove the tens of thousands of US-led troops based in the country.