Roundup: Dozens killed in Iran's clashes with rebels

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) rebels have killed 11 individuals in fresh clashes, raising the total number of casualties to dozens from both sides in recent days, reported local media on Tuesday.

IRGC commander in Iran's Kurdistan province, Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Rajabi, said that forces have identified an 11-member team of "counter-revolutionary" rebels attempting to illegally cross into Iran through its border city of Sarvabad in Kurdisan, reported Tasnim news agency.

Once the rebels entered Iran, IRGC in Kurdistan placed them under surveillance, eventually leading to clashes and their death, Rajabi was quoted as saying.

Three IRGC troops were also killed, he said, without specifying the date of the clashes.

On June 16, the IRGC said its forces busted two terrorist cells in the north west of the country, killing twelve terrorists.

Three further IRGC members also lost their lives in clashes with "counter-revolutionary terrorist groups," it said.

Reports revealed that the "terrorists" were members of the outlawed "counter-revolutionary terrorist groups," including the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).

The KDPI is a Kurdish political party located in Kurdistan, claiming to be fighting to secure Kurds' national rights.

The "counter-revolutionaries" in Iran's Kurdish region have for long been unsuccessfully opposing the 1979 Islamic revolution, according to Press TV.

Recently, the west of Iran has witnessed an increase of clashes between armed rebels and Iranian security forces.

On Sunday, IRGC's Ground Force Commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, said that troops will target terrorists and armed rebels both within the country's borders and beyond.

Pakpour's remarks referred to the recent clashes between the IRGC's forces and the Kurdish rebel groups in the north west of Iran.

The commander added that since these groups' headquarters are located in northern Iraq, the country's authorities must assume responsibility to prevent the rebel groups' operations which pose a threat to Iran's security.

Iran will target the terrorist groups' headquarters anywhere, he reaffirmed.

Subsequently, a Kurdish security source said that Iranian artillery struck Iran's Kurdish rebel posts located along the border within Kurdistan, the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq, wounding five people on Sunday.

"Iranian artillery pounded the border regions of Sodkan and Soran in the province of Arbil, wounding five people and damaging several residential buildings," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iran's attack also targeted the villages of Alana, Kuna Re and Harman, in Haj Omran which is beside the Iranian border in the Chorman area of Arbil province, the source said.

No casualties were reported following the shelling against the villages, however several families were forced to leave their homes for safer areas, the source added.

Furthermore, a Press TV coverage dated June 13 revealed that Iranian security forces killed five members of the Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group in the south east provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The terrorists were allegedly planning terrorist attacks, police spokesman Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi said, specifying that Iranian security forces confiscated substantial amounts of ammunition from the group.

Al-Mahdi said the terrorists were killed during clashes with the police forces, adding that a policeman was also killed during the clashes, the report quoted him as saying.

Jaish al-Adl, which translates from Arabic into the 'Army of Justice,' is the Sunni rebel group fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in the Iran's provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, and had repeatedly attacked Iran's border posts.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani accused Saudi Arabia of inciting unrest within Iran on Tuesday as well as its ongoing efforts aiming to cast doubt upon Iran's prowess, reported Press TV.

"The Saudis contacted some abject terrorist cells in Iran's east to cause trouble," Larijani said, adding that counter-revolutionaries also contacted terrorist groups in the country's west.

He urged increased vigilance in the face of such subversion. Endit