Iranian soldier killed in rebel attack near Pakistan border

AFP

TEHRAN: An Iranian soldier was killed and two pro-government militiamen wounded in a rebel attack on a border post near the international border with Pakistan in southeast Iran, state news agency IRNA reported Wednesday.

Commander Ramezan Sharif of the Revolutionary Guards, quoted by IRNA, said a soldier of the elite force was killed and two bassiji militia volunteers were wounded.

He identified the assailants as members of Jaishul Adl (Army of Justice), an extremist group, and said they suffered “heavy losses” in the attack in the Saravan region on Tuesday.

The Iranian officer claimed that the militants fled towards Pakistan.

The same group had claimed responsibility for kidnapping five Iranian soldiers in February, four of whom were released within Iranian territory in April. The fate of the other man remains unknown.

The border province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which has a large Sunni Muslim community in an otherwise predominantly Shia country, is the scene of frequent attacks by Sunni extremists and is a major drug smuggling route.

Courtesy: AFP

Republished in The Balochistan Point on 10th September, 2014.