Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan witnessed heavy clashes overnight between Sunni militants and security forces, leaving casualties on both sides.
Several armed men belonging to the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl launched two simultaneous attacks on a law enforcement headquarters in Chabahar and an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base in Rask late on Wednesday, killing in total 11 members of Iran's security forces and wounding several others, Iranian media reported on Thursday.
The casualties included two police officers, two border guards and seven members of the IRGC and the Basij paramilitary forces, the official IRNA news agency said.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC’s Ground Force, was quoted by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying that 15 militants were killed in the exchanges of fire that erupted following the attacks, adding that the deaths will likely increase as the security forces continue their operations to eliminate the armed elements in the area.
Pakpour added that the security situation is now under control, saying, “Currently, the security situation in Chabahar and Rask is normal and there is no problem there.”
Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attacks on its Telegram channel.
The Sunni group, which is made up of Baluchis fighting for the independence of the Sistan and Baluchistan province from Iran, carried out multiple attacks against Iranian security and military forces in the past years. The separatist group is believed to operate from bases inside Pakistan.
The province is part of the Baluchistan region, which also extends to Pakistan and some southern parts of Afghanistan. In Iran, the ethnic Baluch community living in Sistan and Baluchistan province have suffered years of repression and marginalization under the successive Iranian Shiite-led regimes.
In December, 11 Iranian security personnel were killed in an attack claimed by Jaish al-Adl on a police station in Rask. Weeks later, the group launched another attack at a police station near Rask in early January, killing one police officer at the time.
Iran designates Jaish al-Adl as a terror group.
On Jan. 16, the IRGC struck sites belonging to Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan’s Baluchistan using missiles and drones. Pakistani authorities at the time said the attack killed two children. Two days later, the Pakistani army said it launched precision strikes against bases used by the separatist Baluch Liberation Army and the Baluchistan Liberation Front inside Sistan and Baluchistan province in Iranian territory.
