ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iranian police officer was killed in an attack allegedly carried out by an armed group against a patrol in the northwestern part of the country’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, semi-official Iranian media reported Thursday. The incident comes amid sporadic clashes between Iranian security forces and armed elements in the southeastern province that have continued in recent weeks.
The “tactical unit” patrol in the district of Nosratabad northwest of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, was targeted “while carrying out its duties,” local police said, as cited by Mehr News Agency, framing the assault as “a terrorist attack by armed criminals.”
In addition to the one officer killed, the police said several of the attackers “were wounded” in the incident, but that they had “fled the scene,” adding that security forces launched an operation to identify to catch the perpetrators,” the outlet added.
Haalvsh, an independent watchdog that monitors the human rights violations in Sistan and Balochestan province, on Thursday confirmed the “attack on a military vehicle” in Nosratabad, relaying that “armed individuals” launched an attack on police “special forces,” causing casualties among its passengers.
As of time of publication, no side has claimed responsibility for the incident.
Sistan and Baluchestan is a large, impoverished, and underdeveloped frontier province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, primarily populated by members of Iran's ethnic Baloch and Sunni Muslim communities. The province has long been mired in deep security challenges between Iranian security forces and Baloch armed groups, including Jaish ul-Adl.
While localized anti-state and tribal unrest predates it, 2003 marked the beginning of an organized, modern militant campaign against Iranian security forces in the region. The province is also a frequent focal point for anti-establishment sentiment and periodic protests, alongside persistent reports of heavy-handed state crackdowns against local populations.
Sistan and Baluchestan has in recent weeks been scene to on-and-off clashes between Iranian forces and armed groups.
Iranian police on Wednesday said one armed attacker was killed and several others wounded after an explosion and gunfire targeted police units in Golshan county in the eastern part of Sistan and Balochestan.
Two police officers were killed and another wounded Monday when gunmen attacked a patrol in the province’s central southern Bampur county. Later that day, one individual was killed and two were injured in Rask county, further to the south of Sistan and Balochestan. Haalvsh and Iranian outlets provided conflicting reports over whether the casualties were civilians or security personnel.
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