JUST IN: Eight Dead, Including Iranian General, Pilot, in Helicopter Accident

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and a pilot were among the eight people killed in a helicopter crash in southeastern Iran during an anti-terror operation, state media reported on Monday.

The IRNA news agency stated that an “ultra-light gyroplane” belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) crashed during combat operations in Sirkan, a city in the Sistan-Baluchistan province near Iran’s border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. The crash claimed the lives of General Hamid Mazandarani, commander of the Nineveh Brigade in Golestan province, and Hamed Jandaghi, an IRGC ground forces pilot.

This accident comes amid ongoing military operations in the region following a deadly attack on October 26, which left ten police officers dead. The attack was claimed by Sunni Muslim militant groups, and since then, Iranian forces have reportedly killed several militants and detained others, according to state media.

Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran’s poorest provinces, is home to a significant Baluch minority, a Sunni Muslim ethnic group spread across Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The province has long been a hotspot for clashes involving Iranian security forces, Baluch separatists, radical Sunni factions, and drug traffickers.

While helicopter accidents are uncommon in Iran, a notable incident occurred earlier this year when former president Ebrahim Raisi and then-Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed in a helicopter crash, sparking snap elections.

AFP