Eight Iranian border guards have been killed in clashes with unidentified militants near the border with Pakistan, Iranian state media reported.
Three of the militants were killed by Iranian forces in the fighting Monday in the southeastern town of Negur, the state-run news agency IRNA reported.
The news agency cited Ali Asghar Mirshekari, the deputy governor of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, who said the militants crossed into the country from Pakistan.
Iranian officials have reportedly asked Pakistani authorities to catch the surviving assailants.
Volatile border
Southeastern Iran borders the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan, where a number of terrorist groups are active.
Some militants from Sunni-majority Pakistan have carried out attacks across the border in Shiite-dominated Iran.
One of the deadliest was an attack in October 2013 in which 14 Iranian border guards were killed near the city of Saravan.
Iranian authorities say that after similar attacks, the militants have fled into Balochistan.
“Iran has repeatedly criticized its eastern neighbor for failing to rein in the terrorists,” IRNA said, referring to Pakistan.