Gunmen kill policeman, blow up fuel tanker in Iran

Iran's state TV says gunmen have killed a policeman and wounded a police officer in a shootout in which a stray bullet hit a fuel tanker, causing it to explode.

It said Wednesday that the shootout erupted near a gas station in the western province of Lurestan. It says the explosion shattered the windows of a nearby building.

State TV says the wounded police lieutenant is in "satisfactory" condition after being transferred to a local hospital.

It says the assailants fled in a stolen car. It was unclear what sparked the shootout. Heavily rural Lurestan has seen occasional tribal-related armed clashes.

Many people in the area keep private firearms.

 

In November, authorities confiscated some 150 guns from smugglers in the province.