Armed separatists attacked a police station in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan, killing 19 people, including four members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
According to the AP news agency, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported on Saturday that the attackers hid among worshipers near a mosque in the city on Friday and then attacked a nearby police station.
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The attack on the police station in Zahedan cannot be immediately linked to the recent nationwide anti-government protests in Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.
It should be noted that the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which meets the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and earlier there have been attacks on security forces by Baloch separatists.
A report by Iran's Tasnim news agency on Saturday did not identify any separatist group allegedly involved in the attack.
Colonel Hamidreza Hashmi of the Revolutionary Guards has been identified among those killed in the attack, besides Mohammad Amin Azarshukar, guard member and Mohammad Amin Arifi, as well as members of the volunteer force.
Iran's state-run news agency Tasnim and other news outlets reported last Friday that Seyed Ali Mousavi, head of the Guard's intelligence department, was shot during the attack and died of his injuries.
Over the past two weeks, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to join protests against the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mehsa Amini, and to express their outrage at the mistreatment of women.
Recent protests in Iran have also attracted supporters from different ethnic groups.
Mahsa Amini was an Iranian Kurd and that is why the protests over her death first started in Kurdish areas.
Iran's state TV reported that at least 41 protesters and police officers have been killed since the protests began on September 17.
According to the official statements of the authorities, the AP news agency has published the news that at least 14 people have been killed and around 1500 protesters have been arrested.
It should be noted that it is difficult to estimate the number of protests outside the capital Tehran.
Eyewitnesses said that dozens of protesters were involved in the demonstrations in different areas. On Saturday, the protesters gathered around a university in the center of Tehran and shouted slogans. After that, the anti-riot police dispersed the protesters.
