The Ground Forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have begun conducting major counterterrorism exercises in the country’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
The forces’ commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said on Friday that the drills were underway involving the servicemen enlisted with the IRGC’s Quds Headquarters.
He said the drills had been scheduled to go underway later this month, but were launched on October 26 following a foreign-backed terrorist attack on a police convoy in the province that claimed the lives of 10 police forces.
The "ongoing" exercise, said the commander, feature identification, pursuit, and destruction of some foreign-backed terrorist teams.
"It is being conducted in a real operational environment and will continue in several phases until specific operational objectives are achieved," he said, adding, "Currently, there is no set end date for the exercise."
According to Brigadier General Ahmad Shafayi, the headquarters’ deputy commander, the drills had so far led to the arrest of eight members of four terror teams and elimination of four other terrorists.
Those eliminated included a major member of the terrorist outfit that perpetrated the attack on Iranian security forces in the province’s city of Taftan on October 26, the official stated on Friday.
The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush. The foreign-backed outfit, which is based in Pakistan, has been involved in numerous assaults targeting both civilians and security forces across the border province over the past several years.
According to Shafayi, the IRGC’s operations “delivered serious blows to the enemy’s proxy terror teams in the province.”
A significant amount of weapons and ammunition has also been discovered and seized from the terrorist teams, he added.
The successful operations took place in cooperation with the intelligence forces of the province’s General Intelligence Directorate and Law Enforcement Force, he added.