Gunmen Kill Three Border Guards in Southeastern Iran

Gunmen opened fire on a border regiment vehicle in Mirjaveh county, Sistan and Baluchistan province, killing three border guards and wounding a civilian. The militant group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility. The region has a history of violent clashes involving militants, drug smugglers, and security forces.

Gunmen killed three border guards and wounded one other person Thursday in restive southeastern Iran, state-run media reported.

According to IRNA news agency, the gunmen, traveling in a car, opened fire on a border regiment vehicle in Mirjaveh county in southeast Sistan and Baluchistan province, near the Pakistani border. The attack resulted in the deaths of two soldiers and an officer, while a civilian sustained injuries. The militant group Jaish al-Adl, which reportedly seeks greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In April, at least 22 Iranian policemen died in two separate clashes in the province. This region, adjoining Afghanistan and Pakistan, has seen sporadic deadly clashes involving militant groups, 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 province remains one of the least developed regions in Iran, strained by longstanding tensions between its predominantly Sunni Muslim residents and Iran's Shiite religious governance.

(With inputs from agencies.)