Fuel Tanker Blast at Afghan-Iran Border Causes Massive Fire

Fuel Tanker Blast at Afghan-Iran Border Causes Massive Fire
In this still image taken from video, smoke rises from fuel tankers at the Islam Qala border with Iran, in Herat Province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Feb. 13, 2021. AP Photo
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HERAT, Afghanistan—A fuel tanker exploded Saturday at the Islam Qala crossing in Afghanistan’s western Herat province on the Iranian border, injuring at least seven people and causing a massive fire that consumed more than 500 trucks carrying natural gas and fuel, according to Afghan officials and Iranian state media.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blast. Wahid Qatali, Herat’s provincial governor, said Afghan first responders did not have the means to put out the huge fire and had requested support from Iran in the form of fire-fighting aircraft.