Iranian forces kill 8 after deadly attack in southeast: state media

Tehran (AFP): Iran’s military has killed eight militants in an operation in the restive southeast since a deadly attack last month on a police station, state media reported on Tuesday.

On October 26, militants from the Jaish al-Adl group killed 10 police officers in Taftan county, Sistan-Baluchistan province — one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.

“A total of eight terrorists have been killed” during operations in the province, Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Shafahi said, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

“Fourteen other terrorists have been arrested,” including key figures involved in the Taftan attack, he said, adding security forces seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

Late on Monday, IRNA quoted Guards ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour as saying the militants who carried out the October 26 attack “were not Iranian”, without specifying their nationalities.

Sistan-Baluchistan straddles the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is one of the Islamic republic’s most impoverished provinces.

It has long been a flashpoint for cross-border attacks by separatists, and clashes between security forces and armed groups are common.

In early October, at least six people, including police officers, were killed in the province in two separate attacks.

Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attacks on Telegram.

Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, the group is considered a “terrorist organisation” by both Iran and the United States.