Commander among two Iran guards killed in gyroplane crash

Second Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineva Brigade of Golestan province in Iran, and his pilot, were killed in the accident.

In Short

• Accident happened near Sirkan, a city in Sistan-Baluchistan province
• Victims included Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani
• Ten Iranian border guards killed last month

Two of Iran's Revolutionary Guards died in a gyroplane crash in the southeastern region on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency cited the force's public relations department as saying.

The accident happened near Sirkan, a city in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has long been the site of frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni militants as well as drug traffickers.

"Second Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineva Brigade of Golestan province, and his pilot, were martyred in this accident," the agency said.

However, it did not say why the commander of the brigade, based in the northern province, was visiting the southeast at the time.

Ten Iranian border guards were killed in the province last month, in clashes with suspected Sunni Muslim militants.