Policeman killed in clashes with militants in south-east of Iran

policeman killed in clashes with militants in south-east of iran

Sistan and Baluchestan province, where Wednesday’s attack took place, has been hit by unrest involving gangs and Baloch rebels, as well as extremist groups. Reuters

A policeman was killed in clashes between militants and police in the south-east of Iran early on Wednesday, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said.

The gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Rask County in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan at about 1.30am local time, reported IRNA.

The clashes lasted about three hours before the arrival of police reinforcements prompted the attackers to withdraw, IRNA said.

“In an exchange of fire this morning between forces from a police station in Rask and members of an armed group, one of the policemen was killed,” it added.

Sistan and Baluchestan is one of the few majority-Sunni provinces in Shiite-majority Iran and has seen persistent unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs and rebels from the Baluchi ethnic minority, as well as extremist groups.

The attack was claimed by the hardline militant group Jaish Al Adl (Army of Justice) in a brief statement on its Telegram channel, according to AFP.

Jaish Al Adl was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group.

This was the second attack by gunmen in a month against police in the province after the one mid last month when eleven policemen were killed and seven wounded, it said.

Last week, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced new measures to firm up security along the porous border, following twin suicide bombings claimed by ISIS that killed more than 90 people at a high-profile state event in the southern city of Kerman.

Mr Vahidi said authorities had identified “priority points to block along the border”.

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