Pakistani police arrested 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers Monday for illegally entering the country, amid tensions over a recent suicide attack that Tehran alleges was carried out by militants backed by Pakistani intelligence officials.

The 11 officers were taken into custody in Mashkel, close to the countries' border in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, police officer Dadur Raman said. He said officers were interrogating the men and had seized two vehicles.

Another security official said the guards had no travel documents.

"We need to probe that," said Murtaza Baig, a spokesman for the paramilitary border force.

Strained ties

Ties between Pakistan and Iran have been strained since an October 18 suicide attack killed 15 members of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, including five senior commanders, and at least 27 others in the town of Pishin on the Iranian side of the border.

Iranian officials blamed the Sunni rebel group known as Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, in the attack. Iran's president and the Guard chief have since publicly accused Pakistan's intelligence service of supporting Jundallah.