TEHRAN - A terrorist was killed and another injured in the city of Shush in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on Friday morning, the IRGC announced in a statement on Sunday evening.

The IRGC announced that at about 1:am on March 26 two members of a terrorist group affiliated to the separatist group of Alnazal tried to attack military and police headquarters in Shush but their attempts were thwarted by security forces.

It said one of the terrorists was killed on the way to hospital. It added their Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition were also confiscated.

Alnazal, or the so-called Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA), claimed responsibility for an attack on a military parade in Ahvaz, Khuzestan’s provincial capital, in September 2018, killing 25 people, including members of the IRGC and civilian bystanders, and injured 70 others.

Ahvaz is the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province.

To honor security forces, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi issued a statement on Sunday lauding security forces for providing security and stability in the country.

Alavi said the security forces foil all plots hatched by the hegemonic states, led by the U.S. and the Israeli regime and their regional servants, against the Iranian people and government one by one.

“The Anonymous Soldiers’ Week is an opportunity to pay tribute to parts of the silent struggles of your anonymous soldiers and brave sons in the great fight and jihad (struggle),” the intelligence minister said, according to Press TV.

ASMLA has been engaged in armed conflict against Iran with the aim of splitting Khuzestan Province, which is home to a portion of Arab population.

Last year, the Intelligence Ministry published secret correspondence between Saudi Arabia’s spy service and the terrorist group.

The documents were published by the ministry on November 18, 2020, days after the ringleader of the separatist armed group was arrested.

On November 12, the ministry announced the detention of Farajollah Chaab, also known as Habib Asyud, saying he had been identified and arrested during a series of “specialized and combined measures” by intelligence forces.

Chaab had planned several terrorist attacks in Tehran and Khuzestan in recent years, the statement read, adding that he was planning a new assault when he was arrested.

PA/PA