Freed Iranian Border Guards Return Home to Hero’s Welcome

TEHRAN (defapress)- IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour personally welcomed the 4 Iranian border guards who had been rescued this week after being held by a Paksitan-based terrorist group for months.

News ID: 76351

Date: 23 March 2019 - 17:38

Four Iranian border guards rescued this week from detention by a terrorist group have arrived in Tehran on Friday evening to a warm welcome ceremony attended by a top commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Crops (IRGC).

Video footage from the event showed the soldiers stepping off an Antonov 74 transport aircraft as Pakpour greeted them.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi announced on Thursday that four of the 15 Iranian guards, abducted by terrorists near the country's border with Pakistan in mid-October, were released on Wednesday.

Qassemi thanked the Pakistani government for its efforts to facilitate the release of the guards, expressing hope that the others to be released soon.

Fifteen Iranian Basijis (volunteer forces) and border guard forces were abducted by terrorists in the border of Iran's province of Sistan and Baluchistan with Pakistan on October 15 by Jeish al-Adl terrorist group. Five of them were later released through the efforts of the Pakistani government on November 15.

Late in November, a statement by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that 5 of the kidnapped border guards returned home.

Following the freedom of the 4 border guards on Wednesday, Commander of IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said that there are still 6 border guards in terrorists’ hands in Pakistan.

Message end/