Militants clashed with Iranian border guards in Saravan, a town in the southeast province of Sistan and Baluchistan, about 850 miles from Tehran. The report said the militants left the area with losses, but gave no details.

State TV first said six guards died but later corrected it to five. Two more guards were injured. No group was blamed or claimed the attack. There was no more information.

The region is one of Iran’s poorest areas. The mainly Sunni residents have a tense relationship with Iran’s Shiite rulers.

On Thursday, Pakistan and Iran opened the first border market as ties improve between them.

The market is in Pashin, a remote village in Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province. It is one of six markets planned along the border under a 2012 deal between the two countries.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also opened an electricity line that will bring Iranian power to some of Pakistan’s isolated areas.

Leave a Reply