Pubdate: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 Source: Reuters IRANIAN POLICE KILL 17 AFGHAN DRUG SMUGGLERS TEHRAN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Iranian police killed 17 Afghan drug smugglers in four separate armed clashes, the daily Kayhan reported on Wednesday. In different clashes near the Afghan border last week, two Iranian policemen were also killed, it quoted a police official as saying. Police seized 1,754 kg (3,870 lb) of opium and morphine from the smugglers in the northeastern province of Khorasan which borders Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Iran is a major transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the ``Golden Cresent'' -- to Europe and oil-rich Gulf Arab states. Iranian officials say there are some 1.4 million drug addicts in this country of 60 million. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry