Militants kill 4 highway policemen in southeast Iran, state TV says

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state media say militants shot and killed four highway policemen Sunday in the country’s southeast. The report on Sunday said the officers were on a routine mission in restive Sistan and Baluchistan province when they were “attacked by terrorists,” a reference to separatist groups. The province has witnessed multiple clashes between Iranian security forces and drug smugglers as well as a Sunni separatist group affiliated with the extremist group al-Qaida, known as Jeish al-Adl, or Army of Justice. In June four militants attacked a police station in the province and killed two security forces. The province is a well-known route for drug and human trafficking from Pakistan and Afghanistan.