Bloody clashes in Balochistan, Iran.. A “surprise operation” to free an engineer

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Five militants and a member of the Iranian forces were killed, on Tuesday, during armed clashes in the Kurin region, west of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran, while the Revolutionary Guard announced the liberation of an engineer working in urban projects, after he was kidnapped by an armed group.

An Iranian source said that the clashes began this morning between the forces charged with maintaining security and elements that the authorities described as “terrorist groups,” and ended with the killing of 5 militants and a member of the Iranian forces, according to what was reported by the “Fars” agency, which is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The source also explained that security operations will continue with the aim of what he described as "purging Sistan and Baluchistan completely of terrorist elements," without providing additional details regarding the identity of the militants or the organization to which they belong.

In another story, the Jerusalem headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's ground forces announced that its forces carried out a "surprise operation" in the Kurin area, after spotting a group it accused of kidnapping an engineer working on urban projects west of Zahedan, yesterday. He said that the group intended to transfer the kidnapped person to one of the neighboring countries.

The statement stated that the operation resulted in the killing of 5 members of the group and the liberation of the engineer, in addition to the killing of a member of the participating forces.

In a related development, Iranian reports reported that another security operation took place in the Jah Ahmad area of ​​Korin, during which the authorities said that 3 militants were killed in targeting a site they described as belonging to an armed organization. The relationship between this operation and the clashes announced in the region was not independently clarified.

The Kurin clashes came in the context of continuing armed confrontations and security operations in Sistan and Baluchestan, the border province that has for years witnessed the activity of armed groups opposed to Tehran, in addition to attacks targeting the security forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Note that during this October, the Iranian authorities announced the occurrence of clashes in various areas of the province, including the vicinity of Zahedan and other border areas, and said that they resulted in the killing of militants and security personnel. Iranian media reports also spoke of operations targeting sites and groups that the authorities describe as linked to armed organizations.

Sistan and Baluchestan, with a Baluchi majority, is considered one of the most security-sensitive regions in Iran, due to its border location with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the activity of armed groups, most notably the “Jaish al-Adl” organization, which Tehran accuses of carrying out attacks against its security and military forces.