TEHRAN – Armed assailants have attacked a police vehicle in southeastern Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province, leaving two officers dead and another injured.

The incident occurred Tuesday on the highway connecting the city of Khash to the provincial capital, Zahedan, according to the province’s Police Information Center. Officials condemned the assault as a “heinous act of bloodshed” and said security forces had launched an immediate operation to identify and pursue those responsible. Further details, they added, would be made public once available.

The martyred officers were from Sib and Suran County, located some 400 kilometers (248 miles) southeast of Zahedan.

Sistan and Baluchestan, which shares a long border with Pakistan, has been the scene of repeated terrorist attacks in recent years, targeting both civilians and security personnel. Iranian authorities have frequently linked such acts of violence to terrorist groups backed by foreign intelligence agencies, underscoring the need for a strong and vigilant security presence in the province.

Just last month, provincial forces killed at least eight militants involved in an earlier attack against police. In that assault, terrorists ambushed two patrol units in Iranshahr County’s Daman District, killing five law enforcement officers while they were on duty.

The Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish al-Adl later claimed responsibility for the Iranshahr attack.

Terrorist groups carrying out attacks against Iranian interests in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country are believed to be linked to foreign spy agencies.