TEHRAN – Five Iranian border guards were martyred on Saturday night during an attack by gunmen in the border region of Mak Soukhteh in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Two of the victims are officers and the remaining three are conscripts. 

The troops serving in the border regiment of Saravan clashed with a group of gunmen who were trying to cross the border near the Mazesar border post, the Iranian police said, adding that the terrorists fled the scene after sustaining heavy losses, according to Tasnim. 

The police pledged that such an unfair attack will not remain unanswered.

Saravan is only 40 kilometers away from the common border with Pakistan.

The deputy commander of the Iranian police and the commander of the Iranian border guards traveled to the location of the clash. 

In late April, an Iranian police officer was martyred in an armed attack in the border province of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeast Iran.

The officer, Alireza Shahraki, was in his car in the city of Saravan when unknown gunmen opened fire at him. Shahraki’s wife was also injured during the attack.

In January, two police officers were martyred in Bampour County while in the line of duty. The police chief of Sistan-Baluchistan province said at the time that the officers were attacked by “evil” assailants in the early hours while walking the beat in Bampour. After attacking the officers, the police chief said, the evil assailants sped away.

In early December, a conscript was martyred and another wounded in a deadly shooting in the border province. The two conscripts were targeted at night in the port city of Chabahar, southeast Iran.

Iran’s borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan have witnessed sporadic clashes in recent months. In a bid to ensure the security of the region, Iran and Pakistan have been in close contact.