DUBAI, April 9 (Reuters) – Sunni militants attacked two police cars in southeast Iran on Tuesday, killing at least five police officers and wounding one, Iranian state TV reported.
The Jaish al-Adl group claimed the attack, which took place in Sistan-Baluchestan province a few days after it assaulted two Revolutionary Guards’ headquarters in the same region and killed 11 security personnel.
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Semi-official Tasnim news agency said the police officers were on their way back from transporting a suspect in the killing of a police officer who was shot last month during a drug busting mission.
Jaish al-Adl says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for ethnic minority Baluchis in Shi’ite-dominated Iran. It has claimed responsibility for several attacks in recent years on Iranian security forces in Sistan-Baluchestan.
The area, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has long been the site of frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni militants as well as drug traffickers.
Iran is a key transit route for narcotics smuggled from Afghanistan to the West and elsewhere.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
