The Iranian armed forces announced the death of four “terrorists” and an Iranian soldier in the southeast of the country during an operation against armed groups active in this region, a local general reported Friday in a media official.
“In the continuation of the operational exercise against the terrorists […] in the Rask area, four terrorists were killed,” announced Ahmad Shafai, a general in the region of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, to the official Iranian agency IRNA.
The operation took place in Sistan-Baluchistan province, one of Iran’s poorest regions, which shares a long border with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
One of the Iranian soldiers participating in the operation was killed, the general added.
The region is home to a large population of the Baloch ethnic minority, who practice Sunni Islam, in contrast to the country’s predominant Shiite branch.
On October 26, 10 police officers were killed in this region during an attack claimed by the Sunni jihadist group Jaish Al-Adl (“Army of Justice” in Arabic), based in Pakistan and active in the area.
Iranian forces have since launched a counterterrorism operation there, during which the person responsible for the October 26 attack was killed, according to local media.
On Tuesday, they announced that they had killed eight jihadists who were members of the Jaish Al-Adl group during an operation in the southeast of the country.
Formed in 2012, the group has been behind several attacks in the sector in recent months. It is considered a “terrorist organization” by Iran as well as the United States.
“The operation in Sistan-Baluchistan will continue until the terrorists and criminals are eliminated,” General Shafai assured Friday.
