Iranian police have killed four armed rebels thought to be members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group in Rudan, a city in the southern province of Hormozgan, local media reported on June 12.
Iranian security forces branded the rebels as “armed outlaws.” According to the published photos of the rebels, they were carrying the IS flag along with explosives, munitions, and other equipment.
"Intelligence action and monitoring current news concerning the movements of an armed group of rebels led to a firefight on Sunday afternoon in a mountainous area near the city of Rudan,” said Hormozgan’s chief of police, Azizollah Maleki.
During the armed clash with police, all four of the militants were killed and four combat weapons, an IS flag, and 112 bullets, along with some explosives, were captured.
However, Maleki did not say if there were any casualties on the police side.
“One of the militants had a foreign identification card, and the identities of the three others are under investigation,” the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Maleki as saying.
Meanwhile, five persons related to IS have been detained in the port city of Bandar Jask, the head of the judiciary in Hormozgan, Mohammad Sadiq Akbari, told reporters.
“The lawsuit against them is proceeding, and the final verdict is expected soon,” Akbari said.
Following the June 7 twin attacks on the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Iran’s parliament at the heart of the capital, Tehran, massive anti-terrorist operations have been taking place across Iran.
The attacks left 18 dead and more than 50 wounded. All five culprits were gunned down and killed in armed clashes with security forces. It was reported that a woman, on the sidelines of the terrorist attacks, had also been arrested.
“With the helping hand of a friendly country’s intelligence service, the mastermind behind the twin attacks in Tehran has been killed outside Iran,” announced Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi on June 11.
Alawi did not elaborate but emphasized that terrorist operations against Iran have intensified.
Meanwhile, a senior MP, Akbar Ranjbarzadeh, said on June 11 that a number of “elements” behind the June 7 attacks who had fled Iran had been “exterminated.”
IS claimed responsibility for the attacks by publishing statements and videos on its website, A’maq.
Iranian officials responded by saying they will react to the attacks with harsh punitive measures.
“During the past three years, more than 100 terrorist teams have been hit by Intelligence Ministry forces,” Alawi maintained.
The Intelligence Ministry has arrested dozens of people affiliated with IS across Iran over the past few days.
In the latest official comments on the attacks, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mohammad Baqeri threatened the “terrorists and their supporters” with “new lessons” that they will never forget.
