Reports from Iran say that two members of the Baseej have been killed in clashes in the southeast of the country.
IRNA quotes Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) command in Sistan-Baluchistan province as saying that two members of the Baseej were killed in clashes with “outlaw” elements.
Their funerals were scheduled for Friday in a town located in the general area of Zahedan, the capital of the province.
Baseeji are paramilitary units formed after the Islamic regime was established in 1979, operating under the command of the IRGC. They are also used in suppressing protests in cities.
The Islamic Republic has wrangled with armed and outlaw elements in the poor and restless province for decades. A significant part of the population in Sistan-Baluchistan is Baluch and Sunni; unhappy about the official and unofficial discriminatory policies of the Shi’a regime.
In addition, the sparsely populated province borders Pakistan’s Baluchistan, with a porous border and has long been a route for smuggling.
Both Sunni insurgent groups, such as Jaysh al-Adl, and outlaw elements have frequently clashed with border guards or security forces in the province.