Iranian revolutionary guard killed by attack on base in southeast Iran
An armed attack in southeast Iran killed a member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and wounded five others, Iran's IRNA news agency reported, as the country holds official celebrations on the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution.
Saturday's attack took place in Sistan-Balochistan province, where Pakistan-based Baluchi separatists and hardline fighters often carry out cross-border raids.
The province has a large, mainly Sunni Muslim ethnic Balochi community which straddles the border.
The assailants struck a base of the Basij militia in the town of Nikshahr, some way from the border, IRNA said.
"Morteza Ali-Mohammadi was martyred in the incident, and the five critically injured have been transferred to the hospital," Nikshahr's prosecutor Mohsen Golmohammadi told the semi-official YJC news agency.
The Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) group, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Iran, claimed responsibility for the raid on social media.
State media said that it was a "terrorist" attack, and held no particular group responsible.
Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is the successor to the former Jundullah (soldiers of God) group, which has waged a deadly insurgency against Iranian targets over the previous decade.
On Tuesday, the group also claimed responsibility for two bombings that wounded three police officers in front of a police station in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Balochistan.
Cruise missile unveiled
Meanwhile, Iran unveiled a new cruise missile with a range of 1,300km on Saturday during celebrations in Tehran marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran has expanded its missile programme despite opposition from the United States and its European partners.
The surface to surface missile named Hoveizeh is from the Soumar family of cruise missiles, which Iran added to its arsenal in 2015, Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami said.
Western experts say Iran exaggerates its weapons capabilities, but remains concerned over Iran's long-range ballistic missiles.
Friday marked the beginning of 10 days of celebrations of the Islamic revolution that ousted the pro-Western shah.
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