Ten Iranian policemen killed in Sistan-Baluchistan terrorist attack
3 Min Read
The Jaish al-Adl terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack.
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With his face painted in the colors of the Iranian flag, a man chants slogans as he waves the Iranian flag in the annual rally to mark al-Quds Day, in support of Palestinians, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
At least 10 police officers were killed in a deadly terrorist attack targeting police vehicles in Sistan-Baluchistan province's Taftan county, an area frequently impacted by violence and unrest, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
State news agency IRNA cited a police statement confirming that "10 personnel in two patrol units" lost their lives in an ambush.
This attack, among the deadliest in recent months, took place roughly 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of Tehran.
The Jaish al-Adl terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian news agency Mehr reported.
اسامی شهدا ترور سیستان و بلوچستان
— رکنا (@RoknaPress) October 26, 2024
شهید سرباز علیزاده
شهید سرباز پریشانی
شهیدسرباز نور بخش
شهید سرباز صالØÛŒ
شهیدکادر ایمان درویشی
شهید کادرعلیرضا اقاجانی
شهید کادرمهدی خموشی
شهید کادرنعمت نوری
شهید کادر هادی زارع
مابقی اسامی شهدا متعاقبا اعلام می گردد. pic.twitter.com/jfGnMYGsVs
Recurring Security Issues
The Sistan-Baluchistan province borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Tensions in the area are longstanding, often erupting into clashes between Iranian security forces and local insurgents.
The area has seen repeated incidents, including an early October attack that left six people, including police officers, dead. Back then, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for those attacks.
In January, Iran launched a strike within Pakistan's borders, targeting a headquarters for the terrorist organization. Pakistan later fired back with the stated objective of targeting what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran.
Iranian state media reported that three women and four children were killed after the explosions in the country's southeast.
The two countries later agreed to work on a sustainable peace.
Read more: Iran, Pakistan not to let terrorists undermine mutual security, ties
Who is Jaish al-Adl?
The group, whose name literally translates to the "Army of Justice", is a separatist militant group, founded in 2012, operating in the mountainous border region between Iran and Pakistan.
The group alongside other terrorist groups in the region strives for an independent Balochi ethnostate in the Iranian Sistan and Baluchistan.
Jaish al-Adl has claimed a series of violent attacks killing and kidnapping members of Iran's border police in the past. In December, they killed 11 people and wounded eight others in a hit-and-run terrorist operation against a police station in southeastern Iran.
In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting a bus that killed 27 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps (IRGC).
In addition to their suspected involvement in the terrorist operation in Kerman targetting hundreds of civilians during the commemoration processions on the anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
