Spokesman:

Iranian Police Arrest 300 Rioters in Capital after Five Security Forces Killed

TEHRAN (defapress) – The Iranian police forces managed to arrest 300 rioters in northern Tehran following intense clashes with members of the Gonabadi Dervishes, a Sufi community in Iran, which led to the killing of five security forces, the police spokesman said.

News ID: 68767

Date: 20 February 2018 - 17:26

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Brigadier General Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi said the Law Enforcement forces mounted an overnight operation in Pasdaran Street in northern Tehran after a surrender deadline of 4 a.m. for rioters ended.

In the operation, police forces managed to arrest more than 300 members of the Gonabadi Dervishes, including the drivers of a bus and a car that plowed through a group of police forces, the spokesman noted.

In the attacks by the Gonabadi Dervishes, three Law Enforcement forces and two members of Basij (Mobilization) Force have been killed.

Unfortunately, 30 police forces were injured and many public and private properties were destroyed in the clashes, Montazer-al-Mahdi said.

The rioters had gathered in front of a police station in northern Tehran, demanding the release of some members of their community.

A video on social media showed a white bus plowing through a group of around 40 riot police officers in a narrow street.