World

Four Iran security force members killed in attack: State Media

A 'terrorist' attack killed four members of Iran's security forces in the country's southeast

AFP December 19, 2022

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

IRAN:

A 'terrorist' attack killed four members of Iran's security forces in the country's southeast, the state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members were killed "during a terrorist act" in the Saravan region of Sistan-Baluchistan province near the Pakistani border, it said.

The region is one of Iran's poorest and is home to the Baluchi minority, who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shiite branch predominant in Iran.

Also read: Air quality plummets in Indian capital as temperature falls

"The powerful presence of the security forces pushed elements of the group to flee towards Pakistan," IRNA said, without providing further details on the assailants.

The area has previously seen clashes with drug smuggling gangs as well as rebels from the Baluchi minority and Sunni Muslim extremist groups.

Since the September 16 death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini in the capital Tehran, protesters in Sistan-Baluchistan have also rallied in anti-regime protests which have spread nationwide.