Three IRGC officers, four gunmen killed in Iran’s restive southeast

Three IRGC officers and four assailants were killed, while six others were arrested, in an attack that took place during a military operations in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province on Thursday.

Hours after the attack, Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni Baloch insurgent group, released a statement claiming that its operatives had engaged in direct clashes with IRGC special forces and intelligence units in the Jalalabad area of Sarbaz County.

The IRGC said that its forces were conducting drills in the province’s southern region near the Pakistani border, aimed at enhancing security. It pledged to continue operations until all objectives are achieved. However, it appears that government forces are engaged in anti-insurgency operations, rather than drills.

The attack is part of escalating violence in the region. Earlier this week, militants killed five IRGC Basij forces in a border outpost attack in Saravan, near the Iranian-Pakistani border. Governor Mansour Bijar identified the victims as local Baloch Sunni Muslims and said the attackers came from a neighboring country.

Last week, Jaish al-Adl killed an IRGC officer in the same area during clashes that also left four of their members dead and three civilians injured. Hours after Friday’s attack, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility, stating that their fighters had clashed with IRGC special forces and intelligence agents in the Jalalabad area of Sarbaz County.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the Jaish al-Adl attacks, calling them "cowardly terrorist acts." The group seeks an independent Baluchistan, uniting Baluch communities on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border, and has a long history of ambushes, bombings, and raids in southeastern Iran. Their operations frequently target Iranian security forces and have caused numerous military and civilian casualties.

Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province has long been a hotspot for violence, frequently targeted by Jaish al-Adl, a militant group with a history of ambushes, bombings, and other armed operations that have claimed the lives of both civilians and security forces.

The group has orchestrated numerous attacks in southeastern Iran, further destabilizing an already volatile region. The Baluch are one of the poorest ethnic groups in Iran, suffering from lack of decent public services and infrastructure.