Female Basij commander shot by assassins in south-eastern Iran

An officer commanding a women's unit in Iran's Basij paramilitary force has been shot and killed outside her home in the Mehrestan district of Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province, the Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

Another officer was killed in a separate attack on a police vehicle in Mehrestan in the province which lies in south-eastern Iran and borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The volunteer Basij militia is subordinate to the Islamic Republican Guard Corps (IGRC), to which Tasnim is linked.

Clashes between Iranian security forces and militant groups have been reported in the province in recent days. Several people have been killed, according to the reports. The death tolls cannot be independently verified.

Iran's military leadership has described the incidents as targeted attacks intended to destabilize the south-east and undermine national stability. It blames its adversaries - Israel and the United States - accusing them of supporting separatists and militant groups.

Meanwhile, concerns are mounting in Iran over a new military campaign and airstrikes in the country.

On Wednesday, the human rights group Haalvash, which reports on the border province, said the security situation remained tense in several locations. It reported that military helicopters were circling over the city of Iranshahr.