A deadly assault on a police station in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran, left six people dead and several others wounded on Saturday, according to Iranian state media.

The attack, which was carried out by a group of armed assailants, began around noon local time when the attackers opened fire on the police station and tried to storm the building.

The police officers inside the station resisted and engaged in a fierce gun battle with the attackers, who were reportedly wearing explosive vests.

The Iranian authorities said that the security forces managed to kill all the attackers and defuse their explosives before they could detonate them. They also said that six people, including four police officers and two civilians, were killed in the attack, and that several others, including some bystanders, were injured and taken to hospital.

The motive and identity of the attackers are still unknown, but the Iranian officials blamed “terrorist groups” for the incident and vowed to bring them to justice. Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a volatile region where ethnic Baluch separatists and Sunni militants have been active for years.

The province has also been plagued by drug trafficking and smuggling. The attack on Saturday was one of the deadliest in recent years in Iran, which has been relatively stable compared to its neighbors in the Middle East. However, Iran has faced several security challenges in the past few years, including a series of protests, assassinations, sabotage and cyberattacks that have targeted its nuclear facilities, military bases and government officials.

Iran has accused its regional rivals, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and its allies, of being behind some of these attacks and of supporting anti-government groups inside the country. Iran has also been involved in several conflicts in the region, such as in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, where it supports various militias and political factions that are opposed by its enemies.