Three soldiers are killed in clashes in southeastern Iran, including 5 bandits

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and an armed criminal gang clashed in the southeastern province on Saturday, killing three members of the Guard and “at least five bandits”, state news agency IRNA reported.

Reports say the fighting took place on Saturday evening in the Kourin district, about 1,120 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran and near the Pakistani border. He also said at least five other bandits were injured. There were no further details.

The camp is located in Sista and Baluchistan province, where it has occasionally been the scene of clashes between Iranian government forces and various militant groups. In the province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, there is also a Sunni separatist group affiliated with al-Qaeda and known as the Jeish al-Adl or Justice Army.

Security forces have also clashed with the province’s drug traffickers, which are located on a major smuggling route for opium and heroin in Afghanistan.

Last July, armed bandits shot and killed four members of the Guard in the province.