TEHRAN — Chief of Iran’s Border Guard Qassem Rezaee has said the case of martyrdom of two border guards in Sistan-Balouchestan Province on Saturday will be pursued through diplomatic channels.

“Pakistan should maintain security at the border and hand over members of the terrorist group to Iran,” Rezaee said, according to Mehr.

“Now the border guards’ martyrdoms will be pursued through diplomatic ways with Pakistan,” he added.

The border guards were killed in clashes with members of a terror outfit in Sistan-Balouchestan.

According to the police, the guards noticed several terrorists who had advanced towards Iran seeking to attack border units on Friday night.

The police said the border guards immediately countered the terrorists’ heavy fire and made them flee to the neighboring country.

The counterattack caused fatalities among members of the terrorist outfit.

Sergeant Major Ahmad Rahmani-Fard and Private Ahmad Tavakoli were killed in the clashes, the police said.

Iran has lost many of its border guards in recent years in clashes with terrorists who attempted to infiltrate the border and carry out attacks.

Such clashes are not rare in Sistan-Balouchestan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force said last week that Saudi Arabia has provided a Pakistan-based terrorist group conducting acts of terror against the Islamic Republic with at least three planeloads of weapons and equipment.

Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour made the remarks on Tuesday, when he said members of the so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group operating on southeastern borders of Iran are well-armed.

This shows that the terrorists enjoy the “all-out backing of the U.S., Saudi Arabia and their regional allies,” Pakpour said.

The general added that the IRGC Ground Force had dealt a “heavy blow” to the terrorists despite the Saudi support.

The Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group, which is based in Pakistan, has been behind several bomb attacks and kidnappings in the southeast of Iran.

MH/PA