At least 10 police officers killed in southeastern Iran ambush
Iranian authorities launch investigation as militant group claims responsibility
TEHRAN, Iran
Armed assailants ambushed two police patrol units and exchanged fire with them in southeastern Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province on Saturday, killing at least 10 police officers, state media reported.
The incident occurred in Taftan earlier on Saturday when law enforcement responded to an emergency call to resolve a dispute and attacked when they were returning, the state news agency IRNA reported, citing the police information center.
Two police patrol units were ambushed as they returned to the police station, the statement noted.
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has ordered an investigation after forming a committee to examine the incident's details, the news agency reported.
The committee, comprised of police commanders and senior ministry officials, has been directed to visit the incident site and submit a report to the minister "as soon as possible."
Militant group Jaish al-Adl, which frequently targets Iranian security forces, later claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.
Sistan and Baluchistan is a restive border province with the presence of several militant groups, including Jaish al-Adl.
In April, five police officers were killed when militants opened fire on their vehicles on a highway near Sib and Soran County of the province bordering Pakistan.
This incident occurred less than a week after clashes in the same province between Jaish al-Adl militants and security forces, in which 10 personnel and 18 militants were killed.
In January, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missile attacks on Pakistan’s Balochistan province, claiming to target the militant group’s headquarters.
Pakistan condemned the strikes and responded with its missile attacks on what it identified as militant sites along the Iran border, leading to the escalation of tensions between the two sides.
Saturday’s attack on the police came hours after Israel targeted military sites in different provinces of Iran, killing at least two army soldiers. Details of the damage are not known yet.
