ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - One officer was killed in an overnight clash between police and an armed Baluchi group in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province.
The clash broke out in the city of Iranshahr where a police patrol officer named Ramin Sadeghi was killed, state-owned IRNA news agency reported on Saturday, citing a police statement.
A second officer was injured, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which reported that the armed men fled the scene after they were wounded by police fire.
The Baluchi opposition group Jaish al-Adl, which is active in the area, claimed responsibility.
"Last night, Jaish al-Adl succeeded in targeting a patrol unit of the Faraj repressive forces in the city of Iranshahr," the group said in a statement.
Attacks on Iranian security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan are frequent. The province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, is home to armed Baluchi groups, primarily Jaish al-Adl, who have waged an insurgency against Tehran and carried out numerous attacks against its forces, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
On Sunday, at least four people, including a police officer, were killed in a clash between security forces and "armed individuals" in the province. Jaish al-Adl did not claim responsibility. In July, at least six people were killed and a dozen others were injured when a courthouse in Sistan and Baluchestan was attacked. Iranian media blamed Jaish al-Adl.
Baluchis are a mainly Sunni ethnic minority who live predominantly in the Baluchestan region near the border with Pakistan. They were active during nationwide protests in September 2022, and hundreds of Baluchis were killed in a heavy crackdown.
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