At least five Iranian police officers shot dead in ambush

At least five policemen were killed in southeastern Iran on Friday after unidentified gunmen opened fire on two police patrol vehicles, Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran's southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy. Tehran accuses some of them of ties to foreign powers and involvement in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.

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According to the Yahoo News, the officers were patrolling in two police cars when they were attacked on the road near the city of Iranshahr, some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.

It did not say how many policemen were injured in the attack. No group has so far taken responsibility for the attack.

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The province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces. It is one of the least developed provinces of Iran.

In July, attackers launched a gun and grenade attack on a court building in the provincial capital, Zahedan, killing six people including a child, and wounding 20.