IRGC Discovers, Seizes Cargo of Explosives, Suicide Vests in Southeastern Iran

According to the public relations office of the Southern province of Kerman’s IRGC base, the cargo of explosives which included explosive equipment and suicide vests were discovered through a joint operation by the intelligence centers of the IRGC bases in Kerman and Sistan and Balouchestan provinces.

According to the statement, such explosives are used by the hostile and anti-revolutionary groups for terrorist attacks against the military patrols and people’s gatherings.

In relevant remarks last Tuesday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Seyed Mahmoud Alavi informed that several terrorists’ plots to hit Iranian targets to undermine public turnout in the Quds Day Rallies in Iran were foiled by his ministry forces, adding that half a dozen suspects have been arrested in connection with the plots.

“Six terrorists who were planning to conduct terrorist attacks during the Qud Day rallies and Qadr nights in the Holy Month of Ramadan have been arrested,” Alavi said.

He said that the terrorists had tried to carry out similar terrorist attacks on different occasions in Iran before, “but fortunately these attempts had been defused”.

“These terrorist groups are mainly linked to the ISIL terrorist group,” although some minor groups with separate affiliations had also embarked on small-scale terror attacks, he added.

Also earlier this month, Head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps intelligence unit Hossein Ta’eb said that several terrorists plots to hit Iranian targets to undermine public turnout in the Quds Day Rallies in Iran were foiled by the IRGC.

“The terrorists did their best to make the Iranian people feel worried (about appearing) in the International Quds Day, but the preparedness of our forces, full intelligence dominance and prompt operations prevented the terrorists from achieving their objective,” Ta’eb told FNA.

He reiterated that the Iranians massively took part in the Quds Day rallies with full security.

“As the time passes by, the collapse of the Zionist regime gets closer and this regime is doing its best to support terrorists and get rid of Muslims,” Ta’eb added.

Iran’s intelligence and security bodies announced in late June that they had identified and captured several terrorist cells that planned to strike at over 50 targets in Tehran and other cities across the country in the last few days.

Early July, the IRGC forces disbanded an anti-revolutionary cell in Western Iran which plotted to sneak into the country for sabotage acts, killing all its 11 members.

“An 11-member anti-revolutionary group affiliated to the outlawed Democrat Party sought to enter Iran but the intelligence officials of Kurdistan (province)’s IRGC force monitored them since the very first moment,” Commander of Kurdistan’s IRGC force Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Rajabi told FNA.

Noting that the IRGC forces blocked the group’s move towards their destination and pushed them towards Kouhsalan district of Sarvabad region after 10 days of tracing, he said, “It was there that our forces killed all the 11 members of the team.”

Three local IRGC forces were also killed in clashes with the outlawed group.

IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour announced at the time that Kaveh Javanmard, a commander of the anti-revolutionary group, was killed in the Western parts of Iran.

An IRGC statement also said on Sunday that the IRGC forces killed five terrorists in clashes near the city of Mahabad in West Azarbaijan province.

“During the last night clashes between the IRGC forces at Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada base and armed outlaws affiliated to the anti-revolutionary grouplets at Sarvabad bordering area and Mahabad general region, 5 mercenaries of the world arrogant powers, including Arash Menbari and Shouresh Menbari, commanders of the outlaws, were killed,” the statement by the IRGC’ Public Relations Department said.

“During the clashes, in addition to killing the armed outlaws, a considerable volume of weapons, ammunitions and equipment were also seized,” it added.

The statement underlined that there has been no IRGC casualty in the clashes.

The complementary statement came after the IRGC announced that its forces had gunned down a number of the terrorists of the Democrat Group in clashes near the city of Mahabad.

According to the statement, the clashes broke out near the village of Bengovin in the outskirts of Mahabad in Northwestern Iran.

Earlier this month, the Iranian intelligence ministry announced that the country’s security forces have defused several suicide and terrorist attacks in different provinces, including Tehran.

“One of the biggest terrorist plots of Takfiri Wahhabi groups was thwarted” in recent days, the intelligence ministry said in a statement.

The statement added that the Takfiri terrorist groups had plotted imminent bombings in different parts of the country, including Tehran and a number of other provinces, during the religious ceremonies in the holy month of Ramadan.

The ministry ensured that all these have been foiled by the country’s security and intelligence officials.

“The terrorists have been apprehended and a number of ready-to-explode bombs and a large amount of explosive materials has been discovered and seized from them,” it said.

Given the continued field investigations in and outside the country and interrogation of terrorists that is currently underway, more information will be released in future, the statement added.