9 foreign nationals killed by unidentified armed men in southeastern Iran: Report

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - At least nine foreign nationals were killed in an armed attack by unidentified assailants in southeastern Iran, according to an Iranian media report.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency on Saturday reported that "unidentified" armed men killed nine non-Iranians in the city of Saravan in the Sistan-Baluchestan province.

"According to follow-up investigation and the testimony of informed people, unknown armed people killed nine non-Iranians in a house in the Sirkan area of the city of Saravan this morning," the report said.

No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident, it added.

There has been no official reaction to the incident, and state media also has yet to report on it.

The Sistan-Baluchestan province, bordering Pakistan, has often reported attacks by armed groups on both policemen and civilians in recent years.

The incident comes less than two weeks after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Pakistan's Balochistan province, allegedly targeting the headquarters of the Jaish al-Adl militant group.

Jaish al-Adl is an Iranian militant group that is believed to have bases in the border region of Pakistan and has claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks in the Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Pakistan retaliated with a missile strike on the bases of a militant group in the Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed at least nine people, all non-Iranians.