An Iranian official in the region said on Sunday that authorities have verified that at least 5,000 people have been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, blaming "terrorists and armed protesters" for the killing of "innocent Iranians."
The official, who declined to be identified, also told Reuters that some of the heaviest clashes and the highest death toll were in the Iranian Kurdish areas of northwest Iran, a region where Kurdish separatists have been active and where the explosions have been among the most violent in past periods of unrest.
"The final number is not expected to increase significantly," the official said, adding that "Israel and armed groups abroad" had supported and equipped those taking to the streets.
Iranian authorities regularly blame the unrest on foreign enemies, including Israel, a sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic which launched military attacks on Iran in June.
The US-based human rights group HRANA said on Saturday that the death toll had reached 3,308. The group said it had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.
And the Norwegian-based Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw said some of the heaviest clashes during the protests that erupted in late December were in Kurdish areas in the northwest.
