Six Iranian guards killed in clash near Pakistan border

Pakistan Sunday strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the Sarawan county of Iran on Saturday, resulting in the loss of lives of six Iranian security personnel.

The Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson in a statement said the government and people of Pakistan express their deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the martyrs as well as to the Iranian government over this tragic incident.

She said, “As reaffirmed during the recent meeting between Prime Minister of Pakistan and the President of Iran, we stress the need for mutual efforts to eliminate terrorism on both sides of the border.”

The spokesperson continued, “Pakistan views the Pakistan-Iran border as a border of peace and friendship; and remains committed to working with Iran towards that end.”

Earlier, Six Iranian border guards were killed Sunday during clashes with an armed group in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Balochistan near Pakistani frontier, local media reported.

The guards were killed in Saravan, near Iran’s border with Pakistan, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website quoted local prosecutor Mehdi Shamsabadi as saying.

Poverty-stricken Sistan-Balochistan, which also borders Afghanistan, is a flashpoint for clashes with drug smuggling gangs as well as rebels from the Balochi minority and Sunni Muslim extremist groups.

Sunday’s attack was carried out by “a terrorist group that was seeking to infiltrate the country” but “fled across the border after the clash”, Fars news agency reported.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

According to the information centre of Iran’s police, the terrorists were trying to enter the country through the joint border with Pakistan in southeastern Iran, then the Iranian border guards made an effort to prevent them.

The conflict led to the martyrdom of six Iranian border guards while one other is in critical condition, according to the Police statement.

On March 11, two policemen were shot dead during clashes with “criminals” in the same region, the state news agency IRNA reported at the time.–