Seventeen Iranian guards have been killed on the border with Pakistan.

The clashes between the border guards and a group of gunmen - so far unidentified but referred to as "bandits" in reports - happened last night in a mountainous region outside Saravan.

Iranian news agencies say sixteen rebels have been hanged at a near-by prison in retaliation for the clashes, although they are not accused of carrying out the border killings.

The area has previously seen clashes between Iranian security forces and drug smugglers from Afghanistan and Pakistan.