Iranian forces kill 4 Sunni militants near Pakistan border

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency says the Revolutionary Guard has killed four Sunni militants along the eastern border with Pakistan.

The Sunday report says the Guard clashed with a nine-member cell of the Jaish al-Adl militant group last week, killing four of them, including their leader.

Last week, Guard forces wounded two militants in clashes near the border and confiscated weapons and ammunition.

Security forces often clash with drug traffickers in the area, which is along one of the main routes for bringing Afghan opium and heroin to the Persian Gulf and Europe.

Shiite-majority Iran has seen a rise in Sunni militancy in recent months, and in June authorities said they foiled one of the “biggest terrorist plots” ever hatched on Iranian soil.