At least three people were killed in a bomb attack in Iran’s southeastern port city of Chabahar on Thursday, state TV reported, adding that many others were injured.

“This morning a bomb inside a car exploded near a police station in Chabahar. Three people were killed and some others were injured,” Chabahar’s acting governor Rahmdel Bameria told state TV. “The suicide attacker set off the explosion after stopping at police headquarters in Chabahar.”

BREAKING: Car bomb explodes near police HQ in southeast #Iran: At least 3 people have been killed & several injured

pic.twitter.com/zrdbrWwyfL — Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) December 6, 2018

Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor for security affairs, told state TV that two police officers were killed in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

TV also reported shooting in the area, which is located in the mainly Sunni province of Sistan-Baluchestan that has long been plagued by unrest from both drug smuggling gangs and separatist militants.

Images posted on Twitter purported to show thick smoke rising from the area. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the videos.

An explosion at the joint #Iran-#India port #Chabahar in the past hour, but the target appears not to be the port but the #IRGC paramilitary. pic.twitter.com/lB4LygAkpV — Ahmed Quraishi - TV Team (@Office_AQPk) December 6, 2018

In 2010, two suicide bombers killed at least 28 people, including some of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, at a mosque in southeast Iran, an attack Iranian leaders said was backed by the United States.

Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex which is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:51 - GMT 06:51