The deaths were part of an “ongoing operation” in Sistan-Baluchistan province, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Ahmad Shafaei said, adding that a soldier was also killed, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iranian forces launched a crackdown after militants from the Jaish al-Adl group killed 10 police officers on October 26 – one of the deadliest raids in the region in recent months.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces.

It has for years faced unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs, rebels from the minority and extremists.

“The operation in Sistan-Baluchistan will continue until the terrorists and criminals are eliminated,” Shafaei said on Friday.

On Tuesday, the Guards said eight members of Jaish al-Adl had been killed during security operations there.

Local media reported that the mastermind of the October 26 attack had already been killed.

Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, Jaish al-Adl is designated as a terrorist organisation by both Iran and the United States.