Iran guards killed on Pakistan border

At least 18 guards shot dead in overnight clashes with gunmen in country's southeast, Iran state media reports.

At least 18 Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with "armed bandits" on the country's southeastern boundary with Pakistan overnight, Iran's state TV reported. Iran's state news agency, IRNA reported another death toll, saying that 17 guards were killed early on Saturday. It gave no more detail on the identity of the armed group, but security forces have fought drug traffickers before in the border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Al Jazeera's Soraya Lennie, reporting from Tehran, said other sources were suggesting that the group Jaish Ul Adl, or 'Party of Justice',  was responsible for the violence. The area also has a history of unrest, with the mainly Sunni Muslim population complaining of discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shia Muslim authorities. IRNA quoted an unnamed official saying the fighting took place in the southeast Sistan-Baluchistan province and the exact number of dead had not been confirmed.