Iran to fire and blood. In the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, during an argument between two conscripts, in the police station of Bampour on the axis Iranshahr-Bampour, “one of them opened fire killing four policemen”, indicated the local police chief, commander Alireza Sayyad, quoted by the Tasnim agency. The attacker was arrested and handed over to the judicial authorities, he added.
The violence came as the country has been plagued by protests since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after her arrest by the vice squad. Six members of the security forces are among the dozens of people killed in deadly violence that broke out on September 30 in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan, according to the authorities.
The provincial police in turmoil
Local figures had spoken of tensions caused by reports of the “rape” of a young girl by a provincial police official. The security forces are also accused of “shooting” at people gathered near the Zahedan mosque.
After an investigation at the request of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the authorities dismissed two senior security officials in the region, including the Zahedan police chief. The province is populated by the Baloch minority, mostly adhering to Sunni Islam and not the dominant Shiism in Iran.