Elite commando unit dispatched for first time after unprecedented demonstrations broke out in Iran over Mahsa Amini's death

Iran has deployed female special forces to its streets for the first time in a desperate bid to quell mass protests that erupted over a young woman dying after a beating at the hands of morality police. The elite commando unit was dispatched to patrol streets with photographers to catch protest ringleaders, as human rights groups said the death toll from the unrest had risen to 31.

The death of Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly beaten by morality police for improper dress before she fell into a coma, has led to unprecedented demonstrations across the country.

Colonel Heydari, the female commando unit's leader, confirmed in a video released on Thursday that female troops were being deployed at public protests for the first time.

Asked by reporters if the female commandos would only fuel the unrest, Colonel Heydari said:

"The arrival of our women's police force is to bring peace. I'm sorry to see other women in these protests carrying out illegal actions that are inconsistent with social rules"

Colonel Heydari was then confronted over Iranian forces attacking female demonstrators, and insisted:

"There is a way to protest. There is a law and the Iranian state has clear rules on what is allowed. The temporary protest that we see here is an illegal act."

It came as Iran significantly reduced access to the internet as more video footage emerged which showed running street battles between protesters and security forces on the streets of Tehran and other major cities.

In the restive province of Kurdistan alone, ten demonstrators were killed in clashes with riot police, with a 15-year-old boy among them, according to the Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan.

Source: Telegraph World News via twitter