Tehran, Sep 6 : At least 11 people were killed and seven others wounded as a fuel tanker exploded in a traffic accident in western Iran on Saturday, state-run IRIB news agency reported.

The incident occurred on an intercity road between Sanandaj County in Kurdestan province and Hamedan County in Hamedan province, the IRIB cited Babak Hodaei, head of the emergency medical services of Kurdestan University of Medical Sciences, as saying.

The incident caused several nearby vehicles to catch fire, Hodaei said, adding that rescue teams have transferred the wounded to a hospital in Sanandaj, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rescue operations are continuing at the scene, he said.

Earlier in July, an oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a naval mine, local media reported.

The vessel struck the mine after allegedly deviating from the route designated by Iran.

According to reports, the tanker deviated from the route designated by Iran and was located in an area outside the safe maritime traffic route, despite previous warnings, Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world's most important energy corridors, carrying oil and liquefied natural gas exports from major Gulf producers to international markets.

Meanwhile, marking a fresh escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, the US forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers after Iranâ??s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships, the US military said Saturday.

A US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple Iranian attacks, US Central Command said. No American personnel were injured.

â??US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 5, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters,â?? CENTCOM said.

/IANS