Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that it had arrested four key members of a gang for being involved in taking foreigners hostage in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, Paralel.Az reports citing Xinhua.

The suspects were arrested in the border areas of Khoy County on Friday, the IRGC's media arm Sepah News quoted Ali Akbar Pour-Jamshidian, the commander of the IRGC's Ground Force at the province's Hamzeh Seyyed Al-Shohada Base, as saying.

The suspects were accused of trafficking, torturing and extorting money from foreign nationals in the county's border areas, he added, without revealing more details.