Iran has tracked down and killed several suspected "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) operatives, including the alleged mastermind of twin attacks in Tehran last week, AFP reported Monday (June 12th).
Dozens of suspects have been arrested since the attacks on Wednesday killed 17 people in the first assault in Iran to be claimed by ISIS.
Police late Sunday killed four ISIS suspects in the southern province of Hormozgan, the ISNA news agency reported Monday.
According to police chief Azizollah Maleki, two of those killed were foreign nationals, while the identity of the others is being investigated.
Weapons and an ISIS flag were seized during the raid, he said.
Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined ISIS and travelled to Iraq and Syria, carried out Wednesday's attacks on the parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Late Saturday, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said the alleged mastermind behind the attacks had been tracked down and killed outside the country "with the co-operation of intelligence services of allied countries".
At least 41 ISIS suspects have been arrested since the attacks, according to Alavi, who said Iran has dismantled suspected extremist cells with increasing frequency in recent months.
Officials have reported the arrests of suspected ISIS members in and around Tehran, as well as in the country's centre, southern governorates, and western provinces near the Iraqi border.
