In a tragic incident on Saturday, at least ten Iranian police officers were killed in an ambush on a police convoy in Iran’s southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
The assault took place in Gohar Kuh, a remote area located around 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of Tehran. Authorities provided limited details on the attack initially, describing it only as an assault by “miscreants.”
But soon after, Iranian state media confirmed the fatalities, revealing the extent of the violence against law enforcement personnel in the region.
Photos and videos shared by HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people spread across Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, captured the aftermath.
The images displayed a damaged police truck bearing Iran’s distinctive green police markings. A graphic image, reportedly taken at the scene, showed the lifeless bodies of two officers seated in the front of the vehicle.
HalVash reported that two security force vehicles had been targeted, resulting in the death of everyone on board.
The vehicle, seemingly peppered with bullet holes, bore no signs of explosive damage, suggesting the attackers relied on gunfire rather than bombs.
Following the incident, Iran’s Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, called for an investigation, describing the officers’ deaths as “martyrdom.” Yet, as of Saturday morning, no suspects had been publicly identified, and no group had claimed responsibility for the ambush.
The attack occurred shortly after reports of a major Israeli operation across Iran, casting a shadow over the country on an already tense morning.
The region of Sistan and Baluchestan has long grappled with violence and instability. Home to a significant Sunni Baluch population within predominantly Shiite Iran, the province has been the center of a low-level insurgency led by Baluch nationalists for over twenty years.
Militant groups like Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni faction, have been known to carry out hit-and-run attacks in the area, often targeting security forces in an effort to destabilize the region.
These attacks have ranged from minor skirmishes to more serious incidents; in April, gunmen wearing explosive vests struck multiple sites across the province, killing ten people before security forces neutralized 18 militants. Just last December, another deadly assault left 11 dead and eight others wounded.
Adding to the tension, the Taliban announced an investigation into reports of Afghan migrants being killed by Iranian security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan earlier in October,, further straining already fragile relations between Afghanistan and Iran.
In a region rife with narcotics trafficking and strained religious tensions, Sistan and Baluchestan remains one of Iran’s most volatile and underdeveloped provinces, where violence frequently disrupts the already fragile peace.
