Islam Times - IRGC Ground Force Nabs Terrorist Team in SE Iran, 4 Killed

Islam Times - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force has dismantled a team of terrorist amid an ongoing major counterterrorism exercise in the country’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The IRGC Ground Force’s Quds Base said in a statement on Thursday that the team was detected, besieged and broken up during an operation in Rask County, as large-scale “Martyrs of Security” drills are in process.

The statement added that the IRGC Ground Force ambushed the terrorist team and disbanded it in cooperation with provincial intelligence forces.

Four terrorists were killed and six others were arrested in the operation, which also resulted in the martyrdom of three IRGC servicemen, it said.

The Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan, has witnessed several terror attacks targeting both civilians and security forces over the past years.

Terrorist groups carrying out attacks against Iranian interests in southeastern and southwestern parts of the country are believed to be linked to foreign intelligence services.

According to General Ahmad Shafaei, spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, the exercise is conducted in pre-determined regions and is meant to bolster and foster sustainable security.

Commanders and servicemen from the IRGC Ground Force's Quds Base are resolved to continue their operations until the goals of the exercise are fully realized, he pointed out.

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan County in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan. Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.