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Border Smuggling Rises In Iranian Kurdistan

As sanctions continue to take their toll on Iran's economy, more Iran Kurds are risking their lives as border couriers to make a living.
Fuel trucks are seen at Haj Umran border crossing with Iran, in northeastern Iraq July 20, 2010. Despite a pledge by Iraqi Kurdistan to crack down on the flow of fuel being smuggled to Iran, the only real impediment truck drivers say they face are long lines that force them to wait for days to cross. Picture taken July 20, 2010.   REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW ENERGY TRANSPORT IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2GMNI

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — Mohammad Karimi was driving his car between two towns in the mountainous region of western Iran on an evening in early October. The vehicle was laden with satellite dishes, illegal under Iranian law, while his wife and two young children awaited his return. As he drove in that fateful night, a single bullet pierced his windscreen and struck him in the head. He died instantly.

Mohammad was the latest kulbar — border couriers who carry untaxed goods coming from Iraq or Turkey for a small fee — to be killed by Iranian border police. The police have killed close to 100 of these petty smugglers over the last two years, treating them like dangerous criminals.

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