The militant group was operating in the counties of Baneh and Sarvabad, and had the intention to perpetrate "sabotage" acts, especially during the June 18 election, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the IRGC's provincial headquarters in Kurdistan.

The group was identified by Iranian intelligence services after a clash with local IRGC forces, and was neutralised in two separate operations due to the complex geography of the area, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement as saying.

In the operations, five "counter-revolutionary mercenaries" were killed, three other "rebels" were injured, and "significant quantities" of weapons, ammunition, and equipment were seized, the IRGC added.

Iran's Kurdish-populated region in the west of the country, bordering Iraq, has been the scene of deadly clashes over the past decades.

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