The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces says its units killed two "anti-revolution terrorists" in Iran’s northwestern Chaldaran region early on Tuesday, July 2.
Two of the IRGC local forces were also killed in the military clash, its website Sepah News reported.
According to the site, "A team of anti-Islamic Revolution terrorists affiliated with the Global Arrogance, who were trying to infiltrate into country's territories early on Tuesday was caught in a military confrontation…".
Global Arrogance is a term used by the Islamic Republic authorities to refer to the West, particularly the United States.
"Two members of the terrorist team were killed during the clashes, while the remaining members were injured, leading to the dismantling of the whole team," Sepah News maintained.
IRGC forces seized a considerable amount of ammunition and weapons and communication devices from the terrorists, the report added.
The report has not identified the insurgent group, but clashes are frequent in the area with Iranian Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), which allegedly has links to Turkey's militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
Earlier on Monday, Kurdish news outlets had said that IRGC troops battled the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), near the Iran-Turkish border.
Other reports cited an armed Kurdish group on June 30 as saying, "Fighters from a Kurdish-Iranian opposition group clashed with an Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) unit" at the border with Iraq.
IRGC troops "attacked Kurdish Kulbar and fired upon them" at the mountainous areas between Piranshahr and Choman, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan's (PDKI) official website reported.
Kulbar is a Persian term used for Kurds who smuggle small amounts of goods on their backs between the borders of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Iran. IRGC forces often attack them ostensibly to limit smuggling.
A Kurdistan Peshmerga Force team, which was in the vicinity of the incident, retaliated immediately to protect the defenseless Kulbar and the IRGC forces "were forced to flee" the scene, the report claimed.
In another statement, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI, sometimes called KDPI), reported that its armed Peshmergas also clashed with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) forces on June 23.
"Several IRGC soldiers were killed and wounded in the clash---Saman Hassanpour, a Peshmerga platoon commander, was also killed in the clash," the statement said, adding, "The Iranian forces retaliated by shelling the Peshmerga Forces' positions in the mountains of Ziwa and Kona Lajan in Piranshar."
