A policeman was killed and another seriously wounded after armed men blew up a tanker truck carrying liquified gas in a shootout in northwestern Iran early on Wednesday, Mehr news agency and State TV reported.
Police approached two men at a petrol station in the town of Dareh Garm in Lorestan province and the men began shooting, the agency said. A stray bullet hit the fuel tanker, causing it to explode.
There was a “horrific explosion” which blew out windows in nearby buildings, Col. Seyed Ali Mirahmadi, Lorestan's deputy police chief was quoted as saying.
The news agency gave no information about the identity of the attackers, or what happened to them. But State TV said the assailants fled in a stolen car.
It was unclear what sparked the shootout.
State TV said the wounded police lieutenant is in "satisfactory" condition after being transferred to a local hospital.
