An attack by armed separatists on a police station in a southeastern city killed 19 people, including three members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard,  state-run news agency reported on Saturday. The assailants in Friday’s attack hid among worshippers near a mosque in the city of Zahedan and attacked the nearby police station, according to the report.

Hossein Modaresi, the provincial governor, said that 19 people were killed. The outlet said 32 Guard members, including volunteer Basiji forces, were also wounded in the clashes. It was not immediately clear if the attack was related to nationwide antigovernment protests gripping Iran after the death in police custody of a young Iranian woman.