The Governor of Sistan-Baluchistan province has announced that “the perpetrators of insecurity” in the region over the past eight years have been finally arrested.
Ali Osat Hashemi told IRNA on Tuesday evening that the detainees include “groups of terrorists, bandits and armed robbers” who had been “disturbing security all over the province”.
In recent years, the southeastern areas of Iran, especially in the border regions with Pakistan, have seen many violent attacks, including bombings and armed attacks. Some of these armed activities have been claimed by Jundallan and later Jeysh-ol-adl, militant groups that purport to fight for the rights of Iran’s Sunni minority.
Hashemi said the detainees have confessed to criminal acts such as “terrorist bombings in Zahedan, Chabahar, several assassinations, roadside bombs and more in the past eight years.”
There were no exact reports of the number of detainees, but last week the head of the province’s security forces announced the arrest of a group of 18 individuals described as “terrorists in Zahedan and Sarbaz”.
An earlier report from Parliament’s National Security Commission indicated the arrest of eight people linked to the “assassination of teachers” in Sistan-Baluchistan.
