Hawzah News Agency (West Azarbaijan, Iran) - According to the statement issued by the Intelligence Ministry on Thursday, an armed terrorist cell was dismantled by intelligence forces in Piranshahr, a city located in West Azarbaijan Province in western part of the country.

The statement noted that the terrorist cell had crossed into the Iranian soil with a mission to cause explosion and kill innocent people in order to escalate the recent unrest and protests in the country, which erupted last Thursday in several cities over mostly economic issues.

The terrorists used a local woman as a shield and opened fire at the security forces present at the scene, killing three of them during the shootout.

During the clashes, one of the terrorists was killed and some of them sustained injuries. The security forces also seized five AK-47 and their magazines, four hand grenades, military uniforms, a backpack of military equipment and a notepad containing guidelines for causing insecurity and turmoil.

The statement further added that prior to this operation, three other terrorist groups had been dismantled in western Iran.