At Least 10 Iranian Police Officers Killed in Attack on Southern Sistan and Baluchestan Convoy

An attack on a police convoy in the volatile southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan on Saturday resulted in the deaths of at least 10 officers, according to official sources. The incident unfolded in Gohar Kuh, located approximately 1,200 kilometers from Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Attack on an Iranian police convoy kills at least 10 officers

Initial reports described the assailants merely as "miscreants", providing limited information. However, Iranian state media later confirmed the fatalities of 10 officers. HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people spanning Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, shared images and videos purportedly showcasing a disabled police vehicle marked with the green stripe characteristic of Iranian police. A particularly graphic image released by the group depicted the apparent corpses of two police officers inside the vehicle.

HalVash suggested that the attack seemed directed at two security force vehicles, resulting in the deaths of all individuals on board. Notably, the truck appeared to have sustained only bullet damage, indicating the absence of any explosive utilization. In response to the incident, Iran's interior minister, Eskandar Momeni, ordered a thorough investigation, characterizing the event as causing the "martyrdom of a number of police," as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.

Lack of Immediate Suspects or Claims of Responsibility

Authorities did not identify any immediate suspects for the attack, nor did any group assert responsibility for the assault. This incident occurred in the wake of a major strike launched by Israel across Iran earlier that morning.

The Baluch regions spanning Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan have endured over two decades of low-level insurgency orchestrated by Baluch nationalists. The verification of information in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, historically plagued by violence related to heroin trafficking, poses significant challenges.