At least six people were killed in violence in southeast Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province on Wednesday, the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in the impoverished region.

What happened: The local human rights organization Haalvsh reported that clashes between security forces and unidentified gunmen began around 3 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. ET) and ended about four hours later in the Jihadabad area of Saravan, a city in the province located about 30 miles from the Pakistani border. The organization published footage showing gunfire and fires in structures.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that its forces carried out an operation against an unidentified armed group in Saravan that was allegedly planning to carry out assassinations. Five “terrorists” were killed in the ensuing clashes, along with one member of the IRGC’s Quds Force, which is responsible for irregular warfare, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The IRGC said the group was acting on behalf of the United States and Israel and thanked locals for their cooperation, according to the agency. Iranian authorities regularly claim, often without providing evidence, that dissident groups are tied to American and Israeli intelligence.