A general view of the scene of a car bombing in front of a police station in the city of Chabahar, on Dec. 6, 2018 in southern Iran. (AFP photo)
TEHRAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian officials accused foreigners of being behind the Thursday deadly attack on the security forces in Iran's southeastern city of Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
"Foreign-backed terrorists kill and wound innocents in Chabahar," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad, Javad Zarif, tweeted on Thursday.
"As we've made clear in the past that such crimes won't go unpunished," Zarif said, adding that "in 2010, our security services intercepted and captured extremists en route from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."
"Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists and their masters to justice," the Iranian foreign minister stressed.
Besides, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) accused foreign intelligent services of being behind the attack on Thursday.
"Terrorist groups are mainly linked to the foreign intelligent services, including that of Saudi Arabia," Ramazan Sharif, the spokesman of the IRGC said.
"They (the terrorist groups) have always sought to create insecurity in our borders," Sharif was quoted as saying by IRGC's official website.
Iran will respond determinedly to these terrorist attacks, he said, adding that both the terrorists and their supporters will be punished.
According to the latest reports, at least three people, including the attacker, were killed and 48 others were injured in the attack in Chabahar on Thursday morning.
The injured people have been transferred to Chabahar hospitals, Mohammad Reza Naseh, a local medical emergency official, was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.
Three of the injured are in critical condition, said the report.
Two of the victims of the attack were the security personnel at the police headquarters.
The terrorists targeted the police headquarters in Chabahar by a car loaded with explosives, Rahmdel Bameri, governor of Chabahar city, told IRNA.
The car was trying to enter the police station, but "police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver," said Bameri, adding that "the attacker then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar."
Local reports said shooting sounds were heard at the site of the explosion.
Also, videos posted on social networks showed thick smoke rising from the area.
No one has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but some unofficial Iranian news websites reported that the armed group, known as Ansar al-Furqan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iran and India have jointly launched the development project of Chabahar port city to the north of the Sea of Oman, which enables India to dodge Pakistan and reach markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond.
Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province, bordering Pakistan, has been the scene of violence and deadly clashes between the Iranian security forces and the militant groups, including drug bandits and separatists, over the past years.
On Oct. 16, 2018, a total of 14 Iranian servicemen were kidnapped by an armed group in the country's southeast Mirjaveh border point and were transferred to Pakistan soil.
On Nov. 22, five of the abducted guards were freed and returned to Iran.
