TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard forces on Tuesday killed seven militants and dismantled their cell in the country’s northwest near the border with Turkey, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. Two Guard members were also killed in the shootout.
IRNA said the “group of terrorists” had snuck into Iran illegally from Turkey.
The clash took place around noon in the city of Salmas in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, according to the repot. The city is located about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran.
The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group.
In November, unknown gunmen killed three and wounded two Iranian border guards in the province.
