A "terror plot" targeting a police car in southeastern Iran with a roadside bomb failed on Wednesday, killing one of two militants, a provincial public prosecutor said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The second militant fled the scene, and authorities have not yet identified the group to which they belonged. But the militants were known to have crossed Iran's eastern borders to carry out an attack on police forces, the authorities said.

Religious tensions in eastern regions

Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province is prone to violence, especially from Jaish al Adl, which is a Sunni militant group belonging to the Baluch minority that straddles both Iran and Pakistan.
A watchtower between Afghanistan and Iran is pictured at the Milak border crossing Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran September 8, 2021. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
A watchtower between Afghanistan and Iran is pictured at the Milak border crossing Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran September 8, 2021. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
In January, Iran destroyed two Jaish al Adl bases in Pakistan in retaliation for a December attack that killed 11 members of Iran's security forces. The attack was promptly responded to by Pakistan, which launched strikes on Baluch separatist militants inside Iran a few days later.