Security forces agents kill 13 militants in southeast Iran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s security forces Wednesday killed 13 militants in three separate operations in southeast of the country, state TV reported.

The report said that eight of the dead were part of a group that killed five policemen last Friday while they were on patrol in the province.

Iranian media have blamed that killing on the militant group Jaish al-Adl, which describes itself as seeking greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority,

The report said clashes between security forces and the militants happened in three different cities in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

It also said more militants were detained in the operation but did not elaborate on the number of the detainees, adding that both police and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard took part in the operation.

Sistan and Baluchistan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces. It is one of the least developed provinces of Iran.