Militants attack in southeastern Iran, killing three border guards

On September 13, 2024, news from Tehran. According to Iranian state media, militants launched an attack in a restive area in southeastern Iran, killing three border guards and injuring one.

The Islamic Republic News Agency said that in Mirjaveh County in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province near the border with Pakistan, militants in a car opened fire on a border guard vehicle, killing two soldiers and an officer and injuring a civilian. In this attack, the radical group "Justice Army," which allegedly seeks more rights for the Baluch ethnic minority, claimed responsibility.

In April this year, two separate conflicts in this province have already killed at least 22 Iranian policemen. Sistan-Baluchestan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has long been the site of deadly clashes between armed groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces. In December last year, militants attacked a police station in this province, killing nearly 12 policemen.

This province is one of the least developed regions in Iran. There has long been tension between the mainly Sunni Muslim residents and Iran's Shiite theocratic rule.