Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards die in gyroplane crash in country's southeast

Two of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have died in a gyroplane crash in the country’s southeast, the semi-official Fars news agency cites the force’s public relations department as saying.

The crash happened near Sirkan, a city in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has long been the site of frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni militants as well as drug traffickers.

“Second Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineva Brigade of Golestan province, and his pilot, were martyred in this accident,” the agency says.

It does not say why the commander of the brigade, based in the northern province, was visiting the southeast at the time.