At least 11 policemen were killed in an attack in Balochistan, Iran
At least 11 policemen and an attacker were killed in an attack considered one of the deadliest, on a police force command center in Balochistan province in southeastern Iran, claimed by a Baluchi opposition group active in this border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan. At around midnight on Thursday, the attackers targeted the police headquarters in the city of Rusk in this province, which is witnessing unrest.
Deputy Governor Ali Reza Marhmati explained to state television: “During the terrorist attack on the police headquarters in the city of Rask, 11 policemen were killed and others were injured.” The official, whose statement was reported by the Iranian official news agency (IRNA), added: “The members who were in the general headquarters defended themselves valiantly. They caused deaths and injuries among the attackers.”
The Tasnim Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported that the attack targeted the police headquarters, noting that two attackers were killed and another wounded.
Mehdi Shamsabadi, the public prosecutor in Zahedan, the provincial capital, announced that 7 police officers were injured, some of whom were “in critical condition.”
The Balochistan police chief came to Rask on Friday morning, where “the situation is under control,” the official IRNA news agency reported.
The government ISNA agency showed pictures of a helicopter chasing attackers over mountains on the border between Iran and Pakistan. Local websites said that military helicopters flew over several cities in Balochistan.
Entrance to the police headquarters in the city of Rask (Mehr)
Deputy Interior Minister Majeed Mir Ahmadi said in television statements that security forces “arrested one of the terrorists,” out of 10 attackers.
He added that the attackers were unable to flee to the other side of the border; The security forces had imposed a cordon on the area, speaking of an intense exchange of fire and “the superiority of the police forces.”
There was conflicting information about the wounded among the police forces. Mir Ahmadi said that six of his forces were wounded.
In turn, police spokesman Saeed Montazer Al Mahdi said, “The blind attack will not remain unanswered.”
He added, in a post on the “X” platform: “Starting from today, whoever was involved in the terrorist attack on the police headquarters will consider himself dead and walking.”
The sprawling desert region of Balochistan witnesses repeated confrontations between security forces and opposition Baloch groups, which say they defend the rights of the Baloch, the majority of whom are Sunnis, while the Iranian authorities insist on considering them an “extremist” religious group.
Balochistan is considered the poorest province in the country and the majority of its population belongs to the Baloch Sunnis. The people of the governorate complain of “ethnic and religious discrimination policies.”
Agence France-Presse reported that an account attributed to the Baloch opposition group “Army of Justice” on the Telegram network claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement.
The group said that the attack left 50 people dead and wounded among the police forces, according to the local “Hal Wash” website.
The Baloch Army of Justice was formed in 2012 from former members of the Baloch group, which launched a bloody rebellion in the region until 2010.
The group previously claimed responsibility for kidnapping 12 Iranian policemen and soldiers in the same province in October 2018, and in July, two policemen were killed during an attack claimed by the group that targeted a police station in Zahedan, the largest city in the province.
Last month, the Iranian judiciary announced the execution of the death sentence against three Baloch opponents on charges of belonging to the “Army of Justice” and committing “terrorist acts.”
In September, two policemen were killed during an attack in Balochistan. In a new clash, on Monday, between Iranian border guards and militants, a soldier was killed and two were injured.
The group accused the targeted police headquarters in Rask of being “one of the main responsible for the Bloody Friday tragedy,” referring to the killing of 93 Baloch people on September 30, 2022 during the wave of protests that shook the country last year after the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini.
On November 4, last year, 18 demonstrators were killed in the Baloch city of Khash, during a forty-day Zahedan march.
At that time, the city of Zahedan was the scene of violent protests that shook the country last year after the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini. The intensity increased in Balochistan following popular dissatisfaction in the province over the accusation of a police leader of raping a young woman.
Every Friday, the authorities impose a tight security siege around the Jami’ Mekki Mosque, where the influential Sunni cleric Abdul Hamid Ismail Zahi leads prayers.
Ismail Zahi said, in his Friday prayer sermon, that the incident was “unfortunate,” expressing his fears about the tightening of the security atmosphere in the governorate. He added that the attack “should not lead to a loss of security in this region,” calling on the people of the governorate to remain calm and “silent.” .
In a separate statement, Ismail Zahi denounced “all manifestations of violence,” stressing that he did not know who was behind the recent attack.
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2023-12-15 16:33:26
