3 Iranian police commanders killed in plane crash

TEHRAN, Oct 12 (agencies): Three Iranian police commanders who were heading south to investigate rebel attacks on security forces have died in a plane crash, state broadcasters and agencies reported Sunday.
The plane, a turbo-propeller aircraft belonging to the national police, had seven people on board when it disappeared from radar in the restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders Pakistan.
The plane had earlier left Tehran and the wreckage was discovered Sunday morning, the Fars news agency said, noting that the deputy of Iran's police inspectorate was among the three officers killed.
The English-language Press TV station said that all seven on board the aircraft had died.
There were no details on the cause of the crash but the plane was found in a mountainous area and a border police commander told Fars that it had not been downed by a missile or other weaponry.
The police were heading to Sistan-Baluchistan's provincial capital, Zahedan, to investigate attacks that have killed five members of Iran's security forces since Wednesday.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which has a large Sunni Muslim community in an otherwise predominantly Shiite country, often sees violence involving Sunni extremists and drug smugglers. Iran says the rebels enter its territory from Pakistan.
All seven on board perished when the twin-engined turbo-prop Commander aircraft went down in the mountains outside Sistan-Baluchistan's capital of Zahedan, IRNA said.
Two generals including Mahmoud Sadeghi, a senior officer in charge of investigations, and a colonel, were among the dead, Fars news reported.
The police were traveling from Tehran to investigate the killing of four Iranian police officers in the province.
Impoverished and relatively lawless Sistan-Baluchistan has been plagued by unrest from disgruntled Sunni Muslim minorities in predominantly Shi'ite Iran and is rife with drug and arms traffickers.
The wreckage of the aircraft has been found but the cause of the crash remains unknown, IRNA said.
Iran's airlines have been plagued by crashes, which Tehran blames on international sanctions imposed over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The measures prevent firms from replacing their aging fleets. About 22 crashes involving Iranian aircrafts were reported from 2000 to August 2014.