Attack on police convoy in southeastern Iran kills 10 officers

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — 

An onslaught connected an Iranian constabulary convoy Saturday successful the country's restive confederate state of Sistan and Baluchestan killed astatine slightest 10 officers, authorities said.

Details stay scarce implicit the onslaught successful Gohar Kuh, immoderate 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Initially, reports simply described an onslaught by "miscreants" without much information. But soon after, Iranian authorities media said 10 officers had been killed.

HalVash, an advocacy radical for the Baluch radical of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, posted photos and video of what appeared to beryllium a disabled motortruck painted with the greenish stripe utilized by Iranian constabulary vehicles. One graphic photograph shared by the radical showed what appeared to beryllium the corpses of 2 constabulary officers successful the beforehand spot of the truck.

HalVash said the onslaught appeared to people 2 information unit vehicles and each those riding successful them were killed. The motortruck appeared to person lone harm from bullets, alternatively than immoderate explosive being used.

The state-run IRNA quality bureau said that Eskandar Momeni, the country's interior minister, ordered an probe into the incidental that it described arsenic causing the "martyrdom of a fig of police."

Authorities identified nary contiguous suspects for the attack, nor did immoderate radical assertion responsibility. The battle came aft Israel launched a large onslaught crossed Iran aboriginal Saturday morning.

The Baluch regions crossed the 3 nations person faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for much than 2 decades. Verifying accusation remains hard successful Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan, which for decades has been location to unit involving heroin traffickers.

The state is 1 of the slightest developed parts of Iran. Relations betwixt the predominantly Sunni Muslim residents of the portion and Iran's Shiite theocracy person agelong been strained. Typical attacks impact hit-and-run assaults by militants successful the region, similar the Sunni militant radical Jaish al-Adl, that termination a fewer information officials astatine a time.

However, determination person been wide casualty attacks by militants successful the past. In April, gunmen wearing explosive vests attacks respective sites successful the province, sidesplitting 10 earlier information forces gunned down 18 militants. Last December, different battle killed 11 and wounded 8 others.

Meanwhile, the Taliban said they are investigating reports that Afghan migrants had been killed by Iranian information forces successful the portion earlier successful October, an incidental that threatened to further strain relations betwixt the nations.