Iranian State media IRNA reported on Thursday that clashes in southeastern Iran resulted in the deaths of eight gunmen and five Iranian security forces members. Ten other security personnel were injured in the incidents.
The confrontations occurred overnight in Sistan and Baluchistan province, with gunmen targeting a Revolutionary Guard post in Rask town and a coast guard station in Chahbahar city, approximately 1,400 kilometers southeast of Tehran.
IRNA stated that six assailants were besieged, holding hostages at the two locations.
While details about the hostages were not provided, the attacks were attributed to the militant group Jaish al-Adl, purportedly advocating for greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority.
The region, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has witnessed sporadic deadly clashes involving Jaish al-Adl, armed drug smugglers, and Iranian security forces.
In December, militants killed nearly a dozen police officers in an assault on a police station in the province.
Sistan and Baluchistan is one of Iran’s least developed areas, marked by strained relations between its predominantly Sunni Muslim residents and Iran’s Shiite theocracy.
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