Iranian police officer shot dead in Baluch-majority province

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iranian police officer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while driving home in the Baluch-majority province of Sistan and Baluchestan on Friday night, state media reported, amid a series of deadly attacks on security forces in the province.

The officer was identified as Mohammadamin Kandi, a member of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces in Khash county, according to state broadcaster IRIB, citing the Sistan and Baluchestan Police Information Center.

Haalvsh, a rights group monitoring the Baluch community, reported on Friday that the officer was targeted in an “ambush,” with gunmen opening fire on his vehicle. It said security measures were subsequently tightened along several roads in Khash, with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel and law enforcement forces deployed to the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sistan and Baluchestan, home to a predominantly Sunni Baluch population, has long experienced unrest and deadly attacks on security forces, which have repeatedly clashed with armed Baluch groups operating in the province.

Earlier this month, another police officer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his home in Saravan County of the province. A few days later, a Sunni Baloch cleric who commanded a local IRGC unit, was also killed by unidentified gunmen while travelling in his vehicle within Sistan-Baluchestan.

The attack comes as Baluch armed groups intensify efforts to unite their ranks. On Wednesday, Ansar al-Furqan announced that it had joined the Popular Fighters Front, a coalition of Baluch armed groups.

Sistan-Baluchestan remains one of Iran's poorest provinces, with longstanding grievances over discrimination, economic hardship and restrictions affecting the predominantly Sunni Baluchi population. 

The unrest is not limited to Iran's southeastern border. Iranian forces have also been fighting Kurdish armed opposition groups in western Iran, known to Kurds as Rojhelat.

Iran’s IRGC said on Thursday that its forces had killed two members of the Kurdish Iranian opposition group, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), in western Iran (Rojhelat), accusing them of attempting to infiltrate the country to carry out attacks. 

PJAK confirmed the attack but said only one member was killed, identifying him as Poyan Karimi (Dersim Bahar).