Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces on May 11 killed seven militants and dismantled their cell in the country's northwest near the border with Turkey, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Two members of the IRGC were also reportedly killed in the shoot-out.
IRNA reported that the “group of terrorists” had entered Iran illegally from Turkey.
The clash took place around noon in the city of Salmas in Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, according to the report. The city is located about 650 kilometers northwest of the capital Tehran.
There was no independent confirmation of the clash.
The area has seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group.
In November 2020, unidentified gunmen killed three and wounded two Iranian border guards in the province.