Two IRGC Members Killed in Armed Attack at Iran’s Western Border
On Monday night, the IRGC confirmed that several of its members were killed and wounded in an armed attack near the western border of Iran, in Sarvabad County, Kurdistan Province.
On Monday night, October 6 (14 Mehr), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that several of its members were killed and wounded in an armed attack near the western border of Iran, in Sarvabad County, Kurdistan Province. The incident occurred when unidentified assailants targeted an IRGC base known as the Hezbollah Junction Resistance Headquarters. According to the IRGC’s Beit-al-Moqaddas Division of Kurdistan Province, “on Monday night, October 6, members of one of the counterrevolutionary groups attacked the Hezbollah Junction Resistance Base in Sarvabad, leading to the martyrdom of two security defenders.” The statement identified the incident as a “terrorist and counterrevolutionary attack.”
The IRGC reported that at least two of its forces were killed and three others injured, one of whom was a cleric. According to the statement, the assailants used hand grenades during the assault, which caused the casualties. The wounded personnel were immediately transferred to hospital for medical treatment. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Iranian media outlets have described it as a terrorist operation, while the IRGC blamed “anti-revolutionary elements” operating near the country’s western borders.
The region of Kurdistan Province has long been a sensitive and volatile area for Iran’s security forces, with occasional armed confrontations between the IRGC and Kurdish opposition groups based near the border with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Over the past decades, numerous reports have emerged of cross-border clashes between Iranian security forces and Kurdish parties opposed to the Islamic Republic. However, in the past two years, incidents in western Iran had become relatively rare, largely due to the implementation of the Iran–Iraq Security Agreement.
That agreement, signed in March 2023 (Esfand 1401), required Iraq to disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and relocate them away from the border zone. Following the accord, camps belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and Komala were evacuated and their members transferred to refugee facilities under Iraqi control. The goal of the pact, officially described as enhancing border security, had been delayed in implementation but was fully enforced earlier this year.
Before that agreement took effect, Iran repeatedly carried out artillery, drone, and missile strikes on positions of Kurdish opposition groups inside Iraqi Kurdistan, claiming these groups were staging attacks or infiltrations into Iranian territory. Those cross-border attacks drew sharp condemnations from the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, both of which called them violations of Iraqi sovereignty.
The latest assault in Sarvabad marks one of the deadliest incidents since the security agreement came into force and may signal renewed instability along Iran’s western frontier. The IRGC has stated that it will continue its operations “to ensure the complete security of the region” and has vowed to respond decisively to any future attacks.
Over the years, the IRGC has maintained a strong military presence in Kurdistan Province and has frequently conducted joint military and security drills to demonstrate its readiness. Despite these measures, there has been growing criticism inside Iran that border soldiers are not adequately equipped to confront organized and heavily armed groups. Many observers and local officials have pointed out that border guards in remote and mountainous areas often lack proper armored vehicles such as Humvees, modern surveillance equipment, and night-vision systems, leaving them vulnerable to ambushes and grenade or mortar attacks.
At the same time, Iran’s eastern borders—particularly in Sistan and Baluchestan Province—remain highly insecure, with the Jaish al-Adl militant group maintaining an active and dangerous presence in the region. The group has carried out repeated attacks on Iranian border posts, police stations, and convoys in recent years, often using explosives and hit-and-run tactics. Security analysts note that Iran faces simultaneous border threats from different directions—Kurdish insurgent remnants in the west and Sunni militant networks in the east—both testing the country’s ability to secure its extensive frontiers.
The October 6 Sarvabad attack adds to these challenges, underscoring the continuing strain on Iran’s border security forces and the urgent need for better protection, training, and modern equipment for those stationed along the country’s rugged and unstable border regions.