TEHRAN, Aug 19: Armed militants kidnapped 12 people in Iran on Sunday after firing at their cars on a remote road in the south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province close to the border with Pakistan, police said.

The militants, linked to the rebel leader Abdolmalek Rigi, ambushed the vehicles near the town of Negur, 50kms from the border, and then reportedly took them into Pakistan.

“The armed bandits, who belong to Rigi’s terrorist group, shot at eight passing personal vehicles,” said Mehdi Ahmadi, the head of the police information centre in Tehran, according to the Fars news agency. “After setting fire to the cars, they abducted eight of the car drivers and four of the passengers. They then escaped.”

“The hostages are still alive and have been transferred to Pakistan,” he added.

He said the militants had probably been looking to exact revenge after police killed two members of their group in a clash a day earlier.

No information was given about the nationality of the hostages.

The province of Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, is known for attacks by militants on passing traffic, especially on roads in its remote eastern corner.

Two Belgian tourists were abducted by bandits in the same region last week. The female

captive has been released but the man is still believed to be held.

Rigi leads the Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group which has claimed a string of attacks and kidnappings in Sistan-Balochistan.—AFP