By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - The Afghan Taliban on Thursday held military exercises using heavy weapons in the southwestern part of the country near the Iran border days after a clash between the forces of the two neighbors.

The military exercises were conducted in the Zaranj area of Nimruz province bordering Iran on Thursday, state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported.

“The troops of the 3rd border division carried out military exercises and heavy weapons tests in Nimruz,” the agency quoted a local Taliban commander, Mohammad Nabi, as saying.

However, he did not share further details about the weapons used during the exercises and the reasons behind holding drills near the Iranian border.

Nabi added that the Taliban security and border forces conducted exercises in a professional manner, using all types of heavy weapons.

The latest development came just a few days after the Iranian forces and the Taliban militia clashed on the Nimruz border in which three people, two in Iran and one in Afghanistan, were killed.

Iran and Afghanistan occasionally engage in clashes at the border since the Taliban came into power in August 2021.

The two sides always accuse each other of starting border clashes.

However, recently tension escalated between the two countries over a long-running water dispute, mainly over the Hirmand River, also known as the Helmand River.

The river originates in the Hindu Kush mountain range near Kabul and flows into Iran’s Hamoun wetlands in Sistan-Baluchestan after covering a long stretch of 1,126 kilometers (700 miles).

Iran has accused successive Afghan governments of restricting the flow of water from the river by constructing dams, a claim denied by Afghan authorities.

Last month, during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian, Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi discussed water scarcity and a decrease in rainfall in the western regions of the country, stressing his country's official position under the existing bilateral agreement.