ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iranian commander and a police officer were killed in two separate attacks on Wednesday in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province after unidentified armed men opened fire, a rights group and state media reported.
Haalvsh, an independent watchdog that monitors human rights violations in Sistan and Baluchestan, reported the deaths of Afsaneh Aqila, a female commander of the all women’s Basij unit in Mehrestan County and Mohammad Ali Shahriari, a male police officer. Both casualties were from Zabol district.
Iran’s state-run Islamic republic of Iran broadcasting IRIB confirmed the identities of the officers. Haalvsh additionally stated that three other officers were wounded and reported “several IRGC military and aviation helicopters patrolling and flying at very low altitudes” over the province continuously.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The latest confrontation comes amid a wave of attacks against Iranian security forces in the southeastern province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sistan and Baluchestan, populated mainly by Iran's ethnic Baloch and Sunni Muslim communities, has long faced deep-rooted security challenges, with Iranian security forces confronting Baloch armed groups.
During clashes on Tuesday in Taftan county, the rights monitor cited local sources having reported that around 18 motorcycles and four military vehicles were present when the fighting began between the IRGC and armed men early that day. As clashes intensified, nearly 40 more military vehicles carrying reinforcements were reportedly sent to the area.
Later that day People’s Fighters Front, a Baloch militant group, issued a statement claiming responsibility for a series of clashes, ambushes and explosions over the past 24 hours in Taftan, Kourin, Zahedan, and Chabahar, according to the watchdog.
More than 20 personnel, mostly members of the Fatemiyoun, an Afghan Shiite militia created and trained by Iran’s IRGC, along with their field commander, IRGC officer Yaser Bagheri, were killed, the group said.
Sistan and Baluchestan is among Iran's poorest and most marginalized provinces, where longstanding grievances over economic deprivation, discrimination and the treatment of the predominantly Sunni Baloch population have fueled resentment towards Tehran.
The province was also the scene of one of the deadliest crackdowns during Iran's nationwide protests in 2022.
On September 30 that year, Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters and worshippers in Zahedan in what became known as Bloody Friday.
Amnesty International documented at least 66 people killed that day, with more deaths recorded in the aftermath.
The continued attacks, despite repeated security operations and the killing of several militant commanders in recent years, highlight the persistent security challenges facing Tehran in the border region and the growing importance of cooperation with Pakistan to prevent further cross-border violence.
