TEHRAN: In a tragic incident on Sunday, four Iranian policemen lost their lives when attackers opened fire on a patrol in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. The attack took place amidst ongoing unrest in the region.
According to the state news agency IRNA, the assailants targeted a police patrol unit, resulting in the martyrdom of three policemen. A fourth officer succumbed to his wounds later, as reported by state television.
Details about the circumstances of the attack have not been immediately released, leaving authorities to investigate the incident further.
Security Situation in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan Province
Sistan-Baluchistan, an impoverished province in Iran, has been grappling with a complex security situation involving various groups vying for control in the region. The area has seen the involvement of drugs-smuggling gangs, separatist rebels, and extremist factions with ideological motives.
On July 8, a similar violent incident occurred in the province, during which two policemen and four attackers were killed in a grenade and gun battle. The attack was later claimed by Jaish al-Adl group.
In May, another incident led to the death of five Iranian border guards in clashes with an armed group in Saravan, a city southeast of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan.
The region has witnessed tensions over water rights between Iran and Afghanistan, with IRNA quoting a police official in late May, stating that “Taliban forces” had shot at an Iranian police station in Sistan-Baluchistan.
Zahedan, the provincial capital, has also been a site of social unrest, with protests erupting in September last year over the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police officer, resulting in dozens of deaths.
