Iranian police officer killed in attack in restive southeast

Iranian police say that one of their officers has been killed in an attack by unidentified assailants in the country’s restive southeast, state media reports.

“Following an armed attack by unidentified individuals on a Criminal Investigation Police officer in Saravan county (Sistan-Baluchistan province), Third Lieutenant Hojat Vafakardeh attained the honour of martyrdom,” state television quotes a police statement as saying.

“Efforts by police and security forces to identify and arrest those responsible for this cowardly attack are ongoing,” the statement adds. It’s not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Sistan-Baluchistan province, one of Iran’s poorest, has long been the scene of clashes involving security forces and armed groups, including separatist factions.