Iran Guard Kills 3 Militants near Afghanistan Border

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps march just outside Tehran during an armed forces parade, Sept. 22, 2011. (AP)
Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps march just outside Tehran during an armed forces parade, Sept. 22, 2011. (AP)
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Iran Guard Kills 3 Militants near Afghanistan Border

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps march just outside Tehran during an armed forces parade, Sept. 22, 2011. (AP)
Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps march just outside Tehran during an armed forces parade, Sept. 22, 2011. (AP)

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot dead three militants and dismantled their cell in eastern Iran near the border with Afghanistan, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.

An exchange of fire between Guard forces and a "terrorist team" resulted in the deaths of the three militants in Sistan and Baluchistan province, according to the report.

Tasnim also said Guard troops confiscated explosives and weapons from the team, which it said was planning militant activities in the region. The report provided no details on the group.

The border area between Iran and Afghanistan has been the scene of occasional clashes between Baluch militants and Iranian forces. Security forces have also clashed with drug traffickers in the province, which is on a major smuggling route for Afghan opium and heroin.



Danish PM Tells Trump It Is up to Greenland to Decide on Independence

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Danish PM Tells Trump It Is up to Greenland to Decide on Independence

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen attends the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday she had spoken on the phone with US President-elect Donald Trump and told him that it is up to Greenland itself to decide on any independence.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said last week that US control of Greenland was an "absolute necessity" and did not rule out using military or economic action such as tariffs against Denmark to make it happen.

"In the conversation, the prime minister referred to the statements of the Chairman of the Greenlandic Parliament, Mute B. Egede, that Greenland is not for sale," Frederiksen's office said in a statement.

"The prime minister emphasized that it is up to Greenland itself to make a decision on independence," the statement said.

Frederiksen also stressed the importance of strengthening security in the Arctic and that Denmark was open to taking a greater responsibility, it added.