KABUL, April 20 (Reuters) - An Afghan teacher was killed and two Iranian border guards wounded in a gunbattle between Iranian and Afghan forces in Afghanistan's border province of Nimroz, the Interior Ministry in Kabul said on Sunday.

The clash broke out after four Iranian border guards crossed the Afghan border village of Pul Abreshum on Saturday afternoon and beat up a number of residents, the ministry said in a statement.

According to provincial police, the four Iranian border guards entered the village and announced that part of the area belonged to Iran. Afghan forces were sent in and the Iranian border guards began firing as they fled the area, the ministry said.

The ensuing gun battle left one teacher dead and two Iranian border guards wounded.

Earlier this month Afghan police said Iranian border guards killed 13 Afghan refugees on the Afghan side of the border.

Afghanistan's western border is generally peaceful though smugglers occasionally clash with security forces.

Iran is a smuggling conduit for drugs from Afghanistan, the world's biggest producer of opium. (Writing by Jonathon Burch, editing by Sami Aboudi)

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