Security forces have identified and arrested the fugitive members of a terrorist group busted in western Iran last week, the Intelligence Ministry announced.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said the terrorists who had been on the run after the dismantlement of the outfit were tracked down and arrested on Thursday after intensive intelligence operations, Press TV reported. Governor General of Kermanshah Province Asadollah Razani said on August 16 that security forces had killed a key member of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group and busted the terror cell he belonged to during clashes in western parts of the country.
Razani added that the terror cell had infiltrated Kermanshah Province, which borders Iraq, and had been tasked with staging suicide strikes against different targets across Iran, including in central cities.
The forces disbanded the outfit during confrontations in the provincial capital of Kermanshah and another unspecified city in the province on August 14 and 15.
According to the Intelligence Ministry's statement, forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps also identified other hideouts and depots of the terrorist group, seizing a considerable amount of electronic remotes and kits, Kalashnikovs, US-made M6 rifles, grenades, explosive belts and vests, electronic bomb detonators and bomb-making devices, as well as other materials used by terrorists.
Iranian forces have, over the past few months, engaged in clashes with terrorist groups, thwarting plots on the border and within the country, arresting several operatives and confiscating large amounts of explosives and bomb-making materials.
Back in June, the Intelligence Ministry reported foiling a major terror plot to stage attacks in Iran's major cities, including Tehran. It also released a video showing security forces raiding the hideout of the terrorists in the capital.
