Iran arrests assassin of prosecutor

TEHRAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian local official said that the security forces of the country have arrested one of the persons behind the assassination of a prosecutor in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, the English Language satellite Press TV reported Wednesday.

"The person was arrested in an operation against the PJAK (the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) terrorist group in a border area of the province on Monday night," West Azerbaijan governor general Vahid Jalalzadeh was quoted as saying.

"Some PJAK members were also killed in the operation," Jalalzadeh added.

Prosecutor Vali Haji-Qolizadeh in the northwestern city of Khoy of West Azerbaijan was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in front of his house last week.

Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mousavi, chief prosecutor of the province, said then that "the assassinated prosecutor had been threatened by the outlawed PJAK terrorist group in the past days," according to Press TV.

Iran's western borders face security threats from the PJAK, an anti-Iranian Kurdish group linked to Turkey's outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party.