Six killed in attacks in southeastern Iran: State media

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least six people including an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander were killed in separate attacks in southeastern Iran, state media reported on Tuesday. A Baluchi extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

An IRGC commander, the head of Bent city council, and two soldiers were killed in an attack in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran’s state IRNA news agency reported.

In Khash city, a police car was also targeted, killing two security guards, IRNA reported.

The news agency described the attackers in both events as armed groups.
 
The Jaish al-Adl (Justice Army) group claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday.

On Monday, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack in the Makki Hirmand region in Sistan and Baluchestan province that killed an Iranian border guard commander.

Baluchi extremist groups, primarily Jaish al-Adl, operate in the province that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. The militants have waged an insurgency against Tehran and carried out attacks against its forces, especially the IRGC.

Baluchis are a mainly Sunni ethnic minority in Iran, living predominantly in the Baluchestan region near the border with Pakistan. The region was heavily targeted during a violent crackdown by the IRGC for nationwide protests in September 2022. Hundreds of Baluchis were killed by the IRGC during demonstrations in Zahedan and Khash.

Jaish al-Adl has carried out numerous suicide attacks on Iranian security forces. The group was re-added to the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) in 2019 by the administration of former President Donald Trump. 

The designation was in response to a deadly attack by the group on the IRGC, which killed 27 guards near Sistan and Baluchestan’s provincial capital of Zahedan.