Iran: Female Basij Commander Afsaneh Aqila Killed in Armed Attack in Sistan and Baluchestan

Tehran (Terror Monitor) — Afsaneh Aqila, a commander of the women’s Basij unit affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in an armed attack in Mehrestan County in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan on Wednesday, Iranian state media and independent news outlets reported.

State-owned Mehr News Agency identified Aqila as the commander of the Shahideh Afzal women’s Basij unit in Mehrestan. The agency reported that she was killed in an attack attributed by Iranian authorities to armed groups they described as terrorist organisations.

According to Iranian media reports, Aqila was targeted while carrying out her duties. However, details surrounding the circumstances of the attack remain limited, and accounts of the incident have differed. Other reports, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency, said she was shot dead outside her home.

No Group Claims Responsibility

Iranian state media attributed Aqila’s killing to what they described as members of hostile armed groups. However, the reports did not provide independently verifiable evidence identifying the attackers, and no group had publicly claimed responsibility for the killing in the available reports.

The circumstances of the attack, including the identities of the assailants and whether they had specific links to any armed organisation, remained unclear.

The killing comes amid a series of armed attacks against Iranian security personnel in Sistan and Baluchestan, a strategically important province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan. The region has experienced longstanding tensions and repeated clashes involving Iranian security forces and armed groups operating in the area.

Police Officer Also Killed in Separate Attack

A police officer was also killed in a separate armed attack in Mehrestan County on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media and international news agencies.

The officer was identified as First Sergeant Mohammad Ali Shahriari. Reports said unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle, leaving Shahriari fatally wounded. He later died in hospital.

Tasnim reported that the attack triggered an exchange of fire between police and the assailants, who were not apprehended, according to the available accounts. The two killings occurred amid increasing reports of attacks on security personnel in the province.

Rising Security Concerns in Southeastern Iran

Sistan and Baluchestan has long faced security challenges involving armed insurgent groups, clashes with Iranian security forces and cross-border criminal activity. The province is also home to a substantial ethnic Baloch population, most of whom are Sunni Muslims in a country where the majority of the population follows Shia Islam.

In recent weeks, Iranian authorities and local reporting have documented further attacks and armed confrontations across the region.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused hostile foreign powers of supporting armed groups operating near the country’s eastern borders. However, such allegations require independent verification, and the available reporting has not established responsibility for Aqila’s killing.

The deaths of Aqila and Shahriari highlight continuing security concerns in Sistan and Baluchestan, where attacks on police and other security personnel have persisted despite repeated operations by Iranian forces.

As of Wednesday, no independent confirmation had established which group carried out the attack that killed Afsaneh Aqila.