Grenade attack, gun battle leaves 2 Iran police dead: media

A grenade attack and gun battle in Iran's southeast near Pakistan left four assailants and two Iranian policemen dead on Saturday, local media said.

It was the latest violence in Sistan-Baluchistan province, where unrest has involved drug smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baluchi minority and Sunni Muslim extremist groups.

There was no immediate indication of who carried out the attack.

"Four unidentified armed individuals attacked and entered police station Number 16 of Zahedan", the provincial capital, according to state broadcaster IRIB. It quoted the province's deputy head of security Alireza Marhamati.

The attackers used grenades to blast open the gates of the police station, and an exchange of fire occurred, said Marhamati.

Two policemen were killed in the ensuing clash, according to Tasnim news agency, which quoted Sistan-Baluchistan Police Chief Doustali Jalilian.

All four "terrorists" involved in the attack were killed, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA, quoting a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps which commands southeast Iran.

Videos were widely shared online purportedly showing scenes from the attack where gunfire could be heard.

The New Arab could not verify these.

Iran - Zahedan
A video of the armed conflict in the police station of 16 #Zahedan
Unknown armed men attacked the police station of the 16 of Mullah's regime in Zahedan and captured the post.#Iran #IranProtests #IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/0niUCQTiGU

— 𝓘𝓻𝓪𝓷 𝓟𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓪 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼 (@IranPanoramaNew) July 8, 2023

A clash between unknown armed men and Iranian regime forces has been reported in Zahedan.
According to reports, unknown armed people attacked Police Station 16 in front of Makki Zahedan Mosque and captured the police station.#Iran #IranProtests #IranUprising pic.twitter.com/fZ3KfDDwet

— 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 (@iranian_voice) July 8, 2023

Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Iran's poorest provinces. It is home to the Baluchi minority who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shia branch predominant in Iran.

In May, five Iranian border guards were killed during clashes with an armed group in Saravan, southeast of Zahedan, in one of the province's deadliest attacks in months.

State media reported at the time that the attack was carried out by "a terrorist group that was seeking to infiltrate the country" but whose members "fled the scene after suffering injuries".

Zahedan was also the scene of protests that flared in September, with dozens of deaths, over the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police officer.

In late May, IRNA quoted a police official, Qassem Rezaee, as saying "Taliban forces" had shot at an Iranian police station in Sistan-Baluchistan, a drought-parched region which also borders Afghanistan. The two countries have been arguing over water rights.

Iranian police did not give details of casualties in that incident but local news agency Mehr reported one Iranian border guard had been killed. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said one person was killed on each side.