A targeted shooting outside a home in southeastern Iran left a high-ranking female military figure dead as armed assailants launched a series of coordinated attacks across the region.
Afsaneh Aqila, who served as a commander for the local women’s Basij volunteer force affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was stepping outside her residence when gunmen ambushed her.
Assailants fired multiple rounds at close range, killing Aqila on the spot before fleeing the scene before local security forces could arrive.
Around the same time, another group of armed men targeted a police vehicle driving through the county, opening fire on the officers inside.
Policeman Mohammad-Ali Shahriari sustained critical injuries during the vehicle ambush and died shortly after the attack.
The double shooting in Mehrestan County comes amidst a sharp spike in violence along the southeastern border province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Just days earlier, a senior police official was killed by a roadside bomb on October 9, following an October 8 armed assault that left two security personnel dead and three others wounded.
State-linked news outlets claimed that the militants responsible for killing Aqila have ties to foreign powers, though authorities have provided no physical evidence to support the assertion.
Security forces have deployed extra patrols across Mehrestan County and set up regional checkpoints as investigators attempt to track down the gunmen.
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