The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has busted a terror cell linked to the Takfiri Daesh terrorists in western Iran.
The spokesman for the IRGC in Kermanshah Province said on Tuesday that members linked to the terror group were arrested in a joint operation with forces of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Colonel Mohammad Kalantari, who was speaking to the semi-official Mizan news agency, would not elaborate on further details, including in which city or town the cell was active. The westernmost Iranian province of Kermanshah neighbors Iraq, where Daesh controls some parts far from the Iranian border in the west and north of the Arab country.
Kalantari said the arrested individuals “were militarily prepared and possessed guns and bandoleers.”
It was not clear whether the cell was plotting an attack inside Iran or it was just organizing militants for terror activities in Iraq.
IRGC’s chief commander in Kermanshah said on Tuesday that numerous terror cells working for Daesh have been busted in the province over the past two years. Brigadier General Bahman Reyhani said during a briefing with reporters that all the busted cells had been recruiting and organizing militants for Daesh “outside Iran.”
Iran has previously warned that it will intervene militarily inside Iraq if Daesh manages to reach the 40-kilometer buffer zone outside of the Iranian western borders.
Daesh has been suffering back-to-back defeats in areas under its control in Iraq with pro-government forces managing to liberate over the past few months two key towns of Tikrit and Baiji in the north and major positions in the desert province of Anbar in the west. The anti-Daesh drive in Syria has also gained a fresh momentum since the country began to enjoy Russia’s air support on September 30.