“Following the terrorist incident in the general area of Sirkan, Saravan city, five native Baloch Basiji’s were martyred,” Iran’s state IRNA news agency said.
IRGC-affiliated media blamed the Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) group for the attack, but the latter quickly issued a statement denying involvement, saying it was blamed for “psychological and political purposes.”
Attacks on Iranian security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan province are frequent. Armed Baluchi groups, primarily Jaish al-Adl, operate in the province that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have waged an insurgency against Tehran and carried out numerous attacks against its forces, especially the IRGC.
Jaish al-Adl was re-added to the United States list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations in 2019 by the administration of former President Donald Trump. The designation was in response to a deadly attack by the group that killed 27 IRGC members near Sistan and Baluchestan’s provincial capital, Zahedan.
Baluchis are a mainly Sunni ethnic minority in Iran, living predominantly in the Baluchestan region near the border with Pakistan. The population was active during nationwide protests in September 2022 and hundreds of Baluchis were killed by the IRGC in a heavy crackdown.
In late October, at least two Jaish al-Adl members were killed in an IRGC drone attack in Sistan and Baluchestan.
Days prior, ten Iranian police officers were killed in a Jaish al-Adl attack in the province.
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