Iranian Official: No Authentic Report on Fate of Kidnapped Guards


Iranian Official: No Authentic Report on Fate of Kidnapped Guards

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A senior Iranian security official said Tehran has not so far received any authentic report about the release of five kidnapped border guards, noting that the country’s foreign ministry is pursuing to gather accurate information about their fate.

“As of this moment, we do not have any credible report about the fate of our country’s abducted border guards,” Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement Affairs Ali Abdollahi said Sunday, adding that the authorities try to receive accurate and authentic reports on the issue through diplomatic channels, namely the foreign ministry.

The five Iranian soldiers have been abducted in Jakigour region in the eastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan on February 6 and held hostage inside the Pakistani territory.

The so-called Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Meanwhile, an earlier report suggested that Pakistani security forces have freed 11 foreign hostages, including eight Iranians and three Tunisians, who had been held by militants in the southwest town of Turbat near the Iranian border.

According to Pakistani officials quoted by the AFP, the freed hostages did not include the five Iranian abductees.

The Saturday rescues are said to have been made amid a search operation for the Iranian border guards by the Pakistani security forces.

Pointing to the report on Pakistan’s recent operation, Abdollahi added that Iran seeks to garner more information on that operation and its results.

In the meantime, Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group announced on its Twitter page that the Iranian soldiers are still held in confinement, dismissing speculation that they might have been liberated.

In recent days, Iranian officials have stressed that the Pakistani government has a commitment to secure its borders with Iran based on the joint security agreement signed by the two countries.

They have suggested that Tehran could send forces into Pakistan to free the five soldiers.

In February 2013, Tehran and Islamabad signed a security agreement which requires both sides to take strict measures to combat terrorism and human and drug trafficking.

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