TEHRAN: Three assailants were killed after they attacked a military checkpoint late on Sunday in southeastern Iran, the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Monday.

In a statement, the corps said the attack took place near the city of Saravan in the Sistan-Baluchestan province — about 50 kilometres from the Pakistani border.

The troops fought off the attack, they said, adding that one of the attackers was killed after detonating an explosive vest.

According to the statement, two other “terrorists” were killed in the attack and two members of the Basiji paramilitary force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards were wounded.

“The terrorists wanted to attack a border post of the Revolutionary Guards ... one of them was using an explosive-laden truck and the other assailant had a suicide belt,” it said.

In the past, Iran has accused Pakistan of supporting militant group Jaish-al-Adl, which Tehran alleged had links to Al Qaeda that carried out several attacks in the region.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2018