Commander of the Ground Forces of the IRGC Announces End of Clashes with 'Takfiri Terrorist Team'

The commander of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the end of clashes between the forces of the 'Najaf Ashraf' headquarters and a 'Takfiri terrorist team' in western Iran, stating that five members of this group were killed and 16 others were arrested. According to him, three members of the IRGC were also killed in these clashes. Mohammad Pakpour stated on Sunday night, February 8, that three of the killed members of the dispatched ISIS team 'blew themselves up with explosive vests during the siege.' He noted that the clashes lasted about 30 hours and that most of the detainees were 'foreign nationals,' but he did not specify their nationalities. Earlier reports indicated that the clashes between the forces of the 'Najaf Ashraf' headquarters and a team from the Islamic State (ISIS) occurred in the 'Bemo' area, part of the Thalath Babajani district, on the border with Iraq. The 'Najaf Ashraf' headquarters is one of the operational bases of the IRGC's Ground Forces located in Kermanshah province, which borders Iraq. Iranian military and security officials have previously reported armed clashes with ISIS members in western parts of the country, but the Islamic State (ISIS), which has lost nearly all of its territories in Syria and Iraq in recent months, has never confirmed its presence in such clashes, although it has repeatedly warned about targeting Iran. This group is a Sunni extremist group that describes followers of other sects and Islamic groups, including Shia Muslims, as traitors and outside the faith. The Islamic State (ISIS) had also attacked the Iranian Parliament building and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, on June 17 of this year. In these two attacks, 22 people were killed, including five attackers. Following these two attacks, for which the Islamic State (ISIS) officially claimed responsibility, Iranian security officials reported widespread arrests of ISIS supporters or operatives in Iran. In August of this year, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic announced that it had arrested '27 members' of the Islamic State who intended to carry out 'terrorist operations' in religious cities and 'deep provinces' of Iran. The recent clashes in western Iran occurred under the circumstances where Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas branch, promised in a speech on September 30 that Iran would celebrate the destruction of the Islamic State (ISIS) 'within two months.'