At least three Iranian policemen were killed in multiple militant attacks in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, state media reported Monday. The region, one of Iran’s poorest, borders Pakistan and has long faced unrest due to drug-smuggling gangs, ethnic Baluchi rebels, and Sunni extremists.
The official IRNA news agency reported that one border guard was killed during a clash with gunmen in Hirmand. Another attack in the same province on Monday left one more border guard dead and two others injured.
Additionally, a police special forces member was killed in the town of Khash, also in Sistan-Baluchistan. The Pakistan-based Sunni jihadist group Jaish Al-Adl claimed responsibility for the latter two attacks via a message on Telegram. The group has also taken credit for several recent attacks, including a Sunday raid that killed a policeman in the same region.
