An armed conflict between unidentified kidnappers and Iranian security forces turned deadly yesterday in Hassanabad Township near Sanandaj.
“Yesterday some members of the anti-Revolutionary group had taken a Hassanabad family hostage but their goal was thwarted by intelligence and security forces,” Fars news agency wrote.
According to this report, the “hostages” and the government forces were not harmed, but some members of the “anti-Revolutionary group” were killed or injured.
The names of the people involved in the seven-hour ordeal have not been released, and no organization has claimed responsibility for the attempted kidnapping.
The incident occurred as the cabinet is visiting Kurdistan province, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had just left Sanadaj for Ilam province.
Violent attacks in Kurdistan have increased in recent months. Most recently two sound bombs were exploded in Sanandaj, and shattered glass injured some passersby.
On April 2, armed attackers at a border station killed three soldiers and a government worker.
Responsibility for that attack was claimed by PJAK, the dissident militant group that says it fights for the rights of the minority Kurds in Iran. It said government forces were regularly using the border station as a base for attacking PJAK bases.
