IRGC says six terrorists killed in southeastern Iran operation

The public relations office of the Quds base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces announced on Thursday that a terrorist team intending to carry out an operation in southeastern Iran was identified and struck, according to a statement carried by Mehr News Agency.

The statement said the action followed public reports received in the area and was taken after the force established what it described as precise intelligence dominance over the group. In the operation, carried out by combatants of the Quds base, a number of terrorists were killed, and a clearing operation in the area was continuing at the time of the announcement.

In supplementary information released by the Quds base, six members of what it called a takfiri terrorist group were killed. A number of explosive packages were also discovered and seized from the group, the statement added. The base did not provide further details on the identity of those killed, the exact location of the operation, or whether any members of the security forces were harmed.

The Quds base is the IRGC Ground Forces unit responsible for the Sistan and Baluchestan province area, whose capital is Zahedan. The province, in Iran's southeast along the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, has seen repeated security incidents in past years involving armed groups and security forces.

No independent confirmation of the casualty figures or the details of the operation was immediately available. According to Mehr News Agency, the clearing operation was still under way when the statement was issued.