Oct. 6, 2010: An Afghan policeman checks passengers of a vehicle at a joint U.S. and Afghan military checkpoint in the outskirts of Kandahar. Afghan police say they have intercepted 22 tons of explosives reportedly imported from neighboring Iran. (Reuters)
Afghan police said Wednesday they had seized 22 tons of explosives stashed in boxes marked "food, toys and kitchenware" that were reportedly imported from neighboring Iran.
The discovery was made Tuesday in a customs office in the western province of Nimroz on the Iranian border, deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Musa Rasouli told the AFP.
"We found these materials hidden in a 40 foot shipping container that had come from Iran. The explosives were disguised as merchandise like food, toys and kitchenware," he said.
Bombs made from old ammunitions and explosives are the main weapon used by the Taliban and other insurgents fighting against the Western-backed Afghan government and Western troops, and cause the bulk of military casualties.
Foreign military commanders and some Afghan officials have accused Iran of providing weapons to the Taliban, the chief group leading the insurgency since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion ousted its regime from power.
Tehran, a long-running U.S. foe, denies the charges and senior Afghan administration officials say they have no evidence against Iran.
The U.S. and NATO have more than 150,000 troops in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and keep President Hamid Karzai's administration in power.
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