Armed attackers Sunday killed the chief of police Criminal Investigation Department for Saravan County in Iran's Sistan -Baluchistan province.

Nour News, affiliated with the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reported that unknown gunmen fired at the car of Major Alireza Shahraki.

The officer's wife was also severely wounded in the attack and taken to hospital in critical condition. Judiciary officials say no one has been detained yet but a manhunt is underway to arrest the perpetrators.

Halvash website that covers Baluchestan events reported that Shahraki used "extremely violent" methods against detainees in the past years.

Earlier in March, two other police officers were gunned down in the restive province with a Sunni-majority population. The attack occurred in a region called Golshan.

Local media identified the two officers as Mohsen Pudinei and Ehsan Shahraki who were shot "while carrying out a security mission regarding Friday prayers".

Last week, tensions built up in Fanuj in the same province after regime forces ran over two motorcycles with their vehicles killing a young man.

The outraged local population took to the streets to protest the actions of the repressive forces in the province. Local media reported that police opened fire at the protesters.

In recent months, pressure on the people in Sistan-Baluchistan has increased, and the situation in various cities has been described as very tense, especially on Fridays, when residents come out to protest against the regime.

The protests began on September 30, 2022, after nationwide unrest broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini.