New Delhi: At least five Iranian security members and eight militants were killed in clashes with the latter on April 4 at two separate points in southeastern Iran, reports say.
The official IRNA news agency said some security force members were injured.
Other reports have it that 11 members of the security forces and 16 militants were killed.
IRNA said the fighting erupted overnight in Sistan and Baluchistan province when gunmen opened fire on a Revolutionary Guard post in Rask town and a coastguard station in Chahbahar city, close to the border with Pakistan and some 1,400 kilometres southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Chabahar is significant to India as the port on the energy rich coast is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties.
State media reports called it a “foiled terrorist attack.” IRNA news agency initially said that six assailants were under siege and that there were hostages at the two sites, without giving further details.
Journalist Abas Aslani has posted on X that the Deputy Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchistan provinces has announced the conclusion of the operation in Chabahar.
The Deputy Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchestan Province announced the conclusion of the operation in #Chabahar. The terrorists involved have been killed, and the hostages have been rescued. He said that the hostages are all in good health.#Iran https://t.co/HNtpaGbOK8
— Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) April 4, 2024
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“The terrorists involved have been killed, and the hostages have been rescued. He said that the hostages are all in good health,” he wrote.
The Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, which says it seeks greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority, claimed responsibility for the attack. State TV showed gunfire during street clashes.
The southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving the militant group, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.
In December, militants killed nearly a dozen police officers in an attack on a police station in the province. The attack was also claimed by the Jaish al-Adl group.
The area is one of the least developed parts of Iran. Relations between the predominantly Sunni Muslim residents of the region and Iran’s Shiite theocracy have long been strained.
With inputs from DW.
