The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday that six members of a Kurdish opposition group were killed during clashes with Iranian security forces near Mahabad in Iran's West Azerbaijan province.

According to the IRGC, the confrontation occurred after a team it described as belonging to a "hostile and separatist group" allegedly crossed Iran's northwestern border to carry out sabotage and terrorist activities. The force said its Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters tracked the group through intelligence operations before engaging them in the mountainous area between Mahabad and Piranshahr.

The IRGC stated that the operation was supported by artillery fire and resulted in the complete destruction of the six-member team. It added that the bodies of four fighters, along with weapons and military equipment, were recovered from the scene.

Iranian state media published photographs showing the bodies of three alleged Kurdish fighters, one of whom appeared to be a woman, dressed in traditional Kurdish clothing. The images also displayed four firearms reportedly seized during the operation, including three AK-47 rifles and one American-made M4 carbine.

The announcement follows a statement by the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), which said on Saturday that its forces had clashed with the IRGC in the Mahabad area on Friday. However, the group did not provide details about casualties or the outcome of the fighting.

As of Tuesday, PJAK had not confirmed whether any of its members were killed in the confrontation.

PJAK is one of the main Kurdish opposition groups operating in western Iran. The organization maintains mobile units in the mountainous Kurdish regions along the Iran-Iraq border, where fighters frequently relocate between remote positions to avoid direct engagement with Iranian forces. Other Kurdish opposition groups also maintain a presence in the area.

The latest confrontation comes amid an increase in attacks targeting Iranian security forces in Kurdish regions. On Monday night, two senior members of the IRGC-affiliated Basij militia were shot dead in Paveh, Kermanshah province.

Iranian authorities said the attackers in the Paveh incident were later ambushed by forces from the Hamzeh Headquarters and their cell was dismantled.

The killings in Paveh marked the third reported attack on Iranian security personnel in Kurdish areas within a week, following separate incidents in Baneh, Kurdistan province, and Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, in which several members of the security forces were killed or wounded.