A senior official with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force says the elite force has eliminated three more terrorists and arrested another six during an ongoing counter-terrorism drill in the southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province near the border with Pakistan.
General Ahmad Shafaei, spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said on Wednesday that the militants were killed and captured in the course of various clean-up operations undertaken jointly by IRGC Ground Force servicemen, Basij volunteer forces, law enforcement forces and intelligence forces.
He added that five terrorists have also turned themselves in.
Servicemen from the IRGC Ground Force's Quds Base are resolved to continue their operations until the entire region is purged of terror elements and the goals of the exercise are fully realized, Shafaei pointed out.
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 the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country are believed to be linked to foreign intelligence services.
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 the 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.