KABUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Personnel of the Afghan National Army have taken 530 individuals into custody in western Afghanistan's Herat province over the past two days for attempting to cross the border into neighboring Iran illegally, according to a statement from the army's western region command on Friday.
The statement noted that the individuals were detained during day and night patrols conducted by border force personnel, but provided no further details.
Previously, the Afghan border force reported arresting 398 people charged with attempting to enter Iran illegally.
Although hundreds of Afghan refugees return from Iran to Afghanistan daily, many others leave for Iran illegally each day to escape poverty and unemployment in the post-war country.
The Afghan government has vowed to curb human trafficking and illegal border crossings. ■