Iran says 3 security forces, 5 gunmen killed

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said three members of the country's security forces and five gunmen were killed in clashes on Saturday in southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, state television reported.

State television initially said four gunmen had been killed during the operation, which it described as being against “terrorists”. It later carried a Revolutionary Guards statement updating the number of gunmen killed to five.

State television did not say whether the gunmen belonged to any organisation. It said they had been planning a “terrorist operation” in Saravan, more than 1,300 kilometres from Tehran.

Iranian forces also seized weapons, ammunition and explosives, according to the Guards statement carried by state television.

Sistan-Baluchistan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and is one of Iran's poorest regions. Iranian security forces regularly clash there with armed groups, including drug traffickers and separatists. On Tuesday, a commander in the Basij paramilitary force, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, was killed in an attack in the province.