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.



South Korean Plane Crash Report Says Bird Remains Were Found in Engines, but No Cause Yet Revealed 

The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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South Korean Plane Crash Report Says Bird Remains Were Found in Engines, but No Cause Yet Revealed 

The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed lies at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)

The first report on last month’s Jeju Air crash in South Korea confirmed bird strikes in the plane's engines, though officials haven’t determined the cause of the accident that killed all but two of the 181 people on board.

The preliminary accident report released Monday said feathers and bird blood stains were found in both engines.

“The samples were sent to specialized organizations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organization identified them as belonging to Baikal Teals,” the report said, referring to a migratory duck.

The report also said the plane's black box stopped recording about 4 minutes before the crash.

South Korea earlier announced that it will remove a concrete structure at the end of the airport's runway that was involved in the crash.

Some experts have said that Muan International Airport’s localizer — a set of antennas in a concrete structure that guide aircraft during landings — likely made the crash of the Jeju Air plane worse.

The Boeing 737-800 skidded off the airport’s runaway on Dec. 29 after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into the concrete structure and bursting into flames. Many observers said the structure should have been made with lighter materials that could break more easily upon impact.

Investigators have said that air traffic controllers warned the pilot about possible bird strikes two minutes before the aircraft issued a distress signal confirming that a bird strike had occurred, after which the pilot attempted an emergency landing.