Seven Suspects Arrested in Connection with the Death of Three Police Officers in Zahak

One day after the death of three police officers in Zahak County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, the governor of the county stated that "seven suspects involved in this incident" have been arrested and investigations are continuing with "seriousness." According to reports, on Wednesday morning, December 5, three police officers in Zahak County were killed during patrols by unidentified individuals. According to the state news agency IRNA, Jamshid Rakhshani Nasb, the governor of Zahak, announced on Thursday, December 6, the arrest of "seven suspects involved in this incident" and added: "Investigations regarding this case are continuing seriously by the relevant forces." The report indicated that "Lieutenant Hossein Anjam," "Lieutenant Badil Mokhtarnia," and conscript "Mohammad Javad Gouri" lost their lives in this incident. The governor of Zahak announced the burial of Second Lieutenant Badil Mokhtari and Third Lieutenant Hossein Anjam in the cities of Zahak and Nimruz in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, stating that the body of conscript Foj Gouri will also be transferred to Kerman for burial. Zahak County is located on the border with Afghanistan and adjacent to Zabol County. This area has faced insecurity in recent months. However, the governor of Zahak described the county as "one of the safest" in Sistan and Baluchestan, adding: "The occurrence of such an incident indicates the movements and sinister plots of the enemies of the regime and the ill-wishers of Shia and Sunni unity." The state news agency IRNA also reported on Wednesday, December 5, that the Gorgich tribe of Sistan and Baluchestan condemned the death of the three police officers in Zahak and emphasized "Shia and Sunni unity." Following attacks by armed individuals on Iranian police forces in Sistan and Baluchestan during the month of Mehr, which led to the death of six police officers according to Iranian officials, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced nighttime helicopter patrols to confront these armed opponents of the Islamic Republic. Ali Khalil Abadi, a commander of the IRGC in Sistan and Baluchestan, stated on November 1 that from now on, intermittent nighttime flights would be conducted for better control and "full oversight" of the borders of Sistan and Baluchestan. Roham Bakhsh Habibi, the commander of border guards in Sistan and Baluchestan, stated on Friday, October 25, that two police officers were killed in clashes with those they referred to as "armed bandits." Hossein Rahimi, the commander of police forces in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, also announced on Wednesday, October 16, that three officers of this force were killed during patrols in the Saravan area by individuals they labeled as "bandits."