https://arab.news/cxfrw
- Armed gangs clashed with border police patrol in Taftan located in Sistan-Baluchestan province, says Iranian state media
- Pakistan and Iran are often at odds over instability on shared porous border, blaming each other for not rooting out militants
ISLAMABAD: Ten Iranian border guards were killed in Taftan city, located in the country’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan, during clashes with militants, Iran’s state media reported on Saturday.
One of Iran’s poorest regions, Sistan-Baluchistan on the border with Pakistan has long been plagued by unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baloch minority and religiously motivated militants.
“Sistan and Baluchestan police information base announced in a statement that a few hours ago, armed gangs clashed with the border police patrol in Goharkoh, Taftan city, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, and killed 10 border guards,” state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said in a post on its website.
The state media said Iran’s minister of interior appointed a team to investigate the “dimensions of this incident.”
Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts, with Islamabad being historically closer to Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.
Pakistan-based militant group Jaish Al-Adl (Army of Justice) has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Iranian forces in Sistan and Baluchestan.
Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Both sides have since then undertaken peace overtures and restored bilateral ties.