TEHRAN: Iranian forces have foiled a “terrorist” bid to infiltrate the country from Turkey, the official IRNA news agency said on Friday, in the latest report of tension at its borders.

The elite Revolutionary Guards (IRCG) intercepted on Thursday morning “a terrorist group trying to infiltrate the country using Iran’s border with Turkey”, IRNA reported quoting a regional commander.

One suspect was killed and one arrested while the other two fled back towards Turkey, said Alireza Madani, a commander in the West Azerbaijan province that borders Turkey. They were intercepted near the city of Salmas and two military rifles were seized, he said.

“Based on the intelligence acquired by the IRGC, the four terrorists were counter-revolutionary elements who lived in Turkey. They wanted to launch terrorist activities in Iran but their plans were aborted,” Madani said.

He gave no further details about the incident, which comes after Turkey declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of a failed coup.

West Azerbaijan province in north-western Iran lies across the border from Turkey’s mainly Kurdish province of Van, often the scene of clashes between Turkish forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The group, which has been demanding greater rights and self-rule, has staged near-daily attacks against the Turkish security forces since a two-and-a-half-year truce collapsed last July.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016