A police officer was killed and another injured in an armed clash with gunmen in Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran, according to the Iranian Fars News Agency, while the group ‘Justice Army’ claimed responsibility for the attack. According to local media reports, the clash occurred on Friday evening in a square in Iranshahr district, where police launched an operation against gunmen who were alleged to have ‘disturbed public security,’ successfully injuring some of them. The police revealed the death of one of their members in the attack and began a manhunt to arrest the gunmen who fled the scene. The police information center in Sistan and Baluchestan province stated that an internal security patrol clashed with ‘gunmen disturbing public order and security in Iranshahr city.’ Iranshahr is located 337 kilometers from Zahedan, the provincial capital in southeast Iran.

Later, the Sunni jihadist group ‘Justice Army’ claimed responsibility for the attack via social media. In recent years, the group based across the border in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the region. Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, has witnessed many armed attacks targeting civilians and security forces in recent years. On Sunday, a police officer was shot dead and another wounded in an attack by armed men in Saravan district of the province, according to Mehr News Agency. On July 26, at least six people were killed in an attack claimed by the ‘Justice Army’ on a court in the same province. Sistan and Baluchestan province borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and is home to a large population of Sunni Baluch minority, with this group active from bases in Pakistan.

In neighboring Pakistan, Baluch groups also move against the government, and last week the US State Department designated the separatist group ‘Baloch Liberation Army’ as a foreign terrorist organization, a move welcomed by Islamabad.