Iran executes 2 Islamic State members convicted of armed rebellion

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Two members of the Islamic State group were executed after they were convicted of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic, Iranian state television reported Tuesday.

The report identified the men as Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani. It said they belonged to an Islamic State cell that formed after the group’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria and had planned attacks inside Iran.

According to the report, Iranian security forces identified the cell’s hideout in the Bamo mountain area near the Iraqi border before it could carry out its plans. Several militants were killed and others arrested during the operation, in which three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were also killed. Authorities said they also seized weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

The two men were convicted of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic, and were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. The judiciary did not disclose where the executions were carried out.