Three Border Guards Reported Killed In Clash In Northwestern Iran

Three Iranian border guards have been killed in a clash with "armed insurgents" in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, Iranian media report.

Citing a police statement, news agencies said the clash broke out near the town of Sardasht on May 29.

The border guards were on patrol when they clashed with the “armed insurgents,” the reports said, adding that “some of the insurgents” were also killed in the fighting.

They did not name the group involved.

In recent years there have been multiple clashes in West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah Provinces close to the Iraqi and Turkish borders between Iranian security forces and armed groups.

In most cases the groups are Kurdish insurgents with bases in Iraq. Some demand independence for Kurdish-populated regions of Iran, others say they are fighting for the Kurds’ rights.