Sistan and Baluchestan: two armed clashes in Zahedan and Taftan leave at least six dead

Sistan and Baluchestan was the scene of two new armed clashes between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and armed men on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. The Quds Base of the IRGC Ground Force announced that in the clash in the Kurin area, west of Zahedan, five members of what it called a "kidnapping team" and one IRGC member were killed.

According to the IRGC's claim, the clash followed the abduction of a "civil projects engineer" in western Zahedan the day before, and the armed men, whom the IRGC attributed to "terrorist groups", intended to take him to a neighbouring country. The identities of the dead and the fate of the abducted engineer have not been announced.

The Chah-Ahmad clash in Taftan and the use of a drone

In the second clash, which began on Tuesday morning in the Chah-Ahmad area of Taftan county, both sides used light, medium and heavy weapons. Haalvsh, the Baluch human rights outlet, reported that as the fighting intensified, the IRGC sent reinforcements and then combat drones to the area. Citing eyewitnesses, Haalvsh said more than 20 members of the Fatemiyoun militia, Afghan forces under the command of the IRGC's Quds Force, were killed; this figure has not been independently confirmed, and the IRGC has said nothing about it.

A wave of violence in south-eastern Iran

Armed clashes have occurred in the province almost daily in recent weeks. In the past week, two police officers were killed in Bampur, the Golshan police station was attacked, and the head of Faryab's preventive police and the deputy for social affairs of Zahedan's police were killed. HRANA had earlier announced that at least 94 people have been killed in six months of armed conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan.

The Islamic Republic blames these attacks on Jaish al-Adl and at the same time has stepped up executions in the province; on Monday the judiciary announced the execution of Omar Dorostaran on charges of membership in Jaish al-Adl, without any documents from his trial being published.

Besides reinforcements, the IRGC in Sistan and Baluchestan has also sent combat drones to the battlefield.