Two "terrorists" were killed and four wounded on Iran's northwestern border, a Revolutionary Guards commander said Sunday. "The counter-revolutionary terrorist cell, which was attempting to enter Iran, was dismantled at the border in western Azerbaijan province," said General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Guards land forces, according to the Mehr news agency. "Two of the armed rebels were killed and four others injured," he added, without specifying if they were members of a known group.
Iranian security forces frequently clash with separatist rebels and jihadist insurgents along the restive borders with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In June, Iran said two armed groups planning "terrorist attacks" had been intercepted in the southeast and northwest of the country, with at least two suspects killed. Iran suffered a rare attack in its capital Tehran on June 7, when members of the Islamic State group carried out twin attacks on the parliament complex and tomb of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.