The provincial General Directorate of Intelligence announced in a statement on Saturday that the terror team was smashed in a major counterterrorism operation, which led to the discovery of different types of weapons, ammunition, and explosive devices.
The statement added that the armed terrorists, who had sneaked into the country via the eastern border over the past few days, were captured after being identified by the security forces. They were arrested before they could take any action to conduct their mission.
The main operational team comprised seven non-Iranian militants armed with various weapons, including laser-guided RPG-7 launchers, US-made M4 and M16 assault rifles, hand grenades, grenade launchers, explosive vests, handheld radios, and a large cache of RPG anti-personnel rounds. Several vehicles and motorcycles were also seized.
During a heavy and hours-long firefight, six terrorists were killed while two others were captured alive.
Two Iranian intelligence officers and a policeman sustained injuries in the process as well.
The General Directorate of Intelligence in Sistan and Baluchestan province noted that the terror team was plotting to target a “critical facility” in eastern Iran.
Training methods, including exercises on mock-up models of the site, reportedly resembled previous replicas attributed to the operational playbook of the Israeli spy agency Mossad.
Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan, has witnessed several terror attacks targeting both civilians and security forces over the past years.
Terrorist groups carrying out attacks against Iranian interests in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country are believed to be linked to foreign intelligence services.
On October 26 last year, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan County in the province.
The Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.