Afsaneh Aqila, a Basij female unit commander, was gunned down in an Iranian border town on Wednesday. Aqila, 37, was reportedly assassinated outside her home in front of her children in Mehrestan, Sistan and Baluchestan province.
The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary organisation that is one of the five branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Afsaneh Aqila, mother of four, was reportedly involved in the detention of scores of Iranian women when a massive nationwide uprising began in late December 2025. She was active with the group for over 15 years.
The IRGC's media arm blamed Israel and the United States for the killing, but stopped short of naming the organisation that helped them. It accused "mercenary terrorists from the United States and the Zionist regime" of not showing mercy even to women who serve the people. "The perpetrators and commanders of this brutal act should expect a harsh response," the IRGC said.
"The veil is a symbol of chastity, honour, and dignity of a Muslim woman. The criminals who violated the dignity of this faithful and Basij lady violated the dignity of the veil and the high values of a people who consider the protection of women's dignity and honour to be one of their fundamental principles," it added.
There was an attack targeting police officers in Mehrestan earlier that day. Aqila left the IRGC headquarters to see her husband after it was confirmed that he was at a hospital. However, her husband was unhurt and was there to offer support to his injured colleagues. Aqila decided to leave the hospital to pick up her children from school, and it was then that she was fatally shot by four men outside her residence, Farsi media reports said.
