UPDATE - 18 militants, 10 security men killed in southeast Iran after attacks

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - At least 10 security personnel and 18 militants are dead Thursday following clashes that lasted several hours in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, according to officials.

The death toll was revised by the Interior Ministry and confirmed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in separate statements.

The previous death toll for security personnel was 11 and militants were at 15.

Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi, speaking to state television, said so far the killing of 10 security personnel has been confirmed in three simultaneous attacks in the cities of Chabahar and Rask in the province bordering Pakistan.

The attacks were reportedly claimed by the Jaish al-Adl, an Iranian militant group that is believed to have bases in the border region of Pakistan.

The group has carried out similar attacks in the past in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Mirahmadi said the “readiness and bravery” of security guards prevented the militants from achieving their goals of taking control of the police and military headquarters in the two cities.

A police station and a military facility in Chabahar as well as a facility belonging to the IRGC in Rask were targeted in the attacks late Wednesday.

Mirahmadi said the military operation against militants extended for several hours as they took civilians as hostages and used them as human shields.

He hastened to add that two non-Iranian individuals, who helped to orchestrate the attacks were arrested.

IRGC’s public relations also issued a separate statement that said several “terrorists affiliated with foreign intelligence services” carried out attacks in Iran’s border province “with an aim of disrupting the security and depriving people of peace.”

It said 18 militants and 10 security personnel were killed in the operation carried out jointly by the IRGC and law enforcement agencies.

Earlier, Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of IRGC's ground forces, told state TV that the "terrorist attacks" were carried out in several places in a coordinated manner.

He said security personnel faced problems as the militants had taken some hostages, who were eventually released.

The latest incident comes less than three months after IRGC launched a barrage of missiles at Pakistan’s Balochistan province in January, claiming to target the headquarters of the Jaish al-Adl militant group.

Pakistan strongly condemned the strikes and retaliated with its missile strike on a village in the Iranian border province, which it claimed to target an anti-Pakistan militant group.

Tensions between the two countries de-escalated after two weeks when they agreed to send their ambassadors, who had been recalled, to their respective countries.

Sistan and Baluchestan is a restive province with the presence of many militant groups including Jaish al-Adl, who often carry out attacks on security forces.

Last December, 11 policemen were killed in Rask following an attack on a police station that Iranian authorities blamed on Jaish al-Adl.

There have been many similar attacks on security facilities in the cities of Zahedan and Chabahar in recent years.