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30 Jundullah rebels died in Iran clashes
At least 30 Jundullah militants were killed during recent clashes with Iranian forces in the country's southeast, according to new reports. On March 7, up to sixty members of the armed group entered the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, planning to carry out an attack on a security post situated in the Zabol-Zahedan border region. The Jundullah militants intended to blow up the Kouleh Sangi post while the guards were inside, but they were stopped by intelligence and police forces before they could execute the plan. Reports published following the incident said that at least a quarter of the militants were killed in an aerial and ground operation carried out by Iranian security forces. More recent accounts, however, indicate that up to 30 of Jundullah members were killed in the attack. They also point out that the ring leader Abdolmalek Rigi had taken part in the clashes. "The ring leader Abdolmalek Rigi fled the scene of the clashes along with the group's other injured members," a security official speaking on condition of anonymity told Press TV. The clashes came almost two years after one of Jundullah's deadliest attacks, known as the Tasouki incident. On March 25, 2006, armed militants shut down the Bam-Kerman highway in southeast Iran and opened fire on passing cars, killing 22 civilians and wounding six. Jundullah claimed responsibility for the attack, providing Arab TV channels with a video footage of the brutal killing, which some channels broadcast. Militants of the Jundullah ring regularly cross over into Iran from their hideouts in neighboring Pakistan to harass, kidnap or attack civilians and police officers. In 2007, ABC News reported that the Jundullah militant group, which is responsible "for the deaths and kidnappings of Iranian soldiers and officials... has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials." Reports published the following year also revealed that in 2007, the US Congress passed a undisclosed bill requested by President George W. Bush that allocated a $400-million fund for covert operations in Iran. The legislation gave the US government the go ahead to provide financial assistance to recognized terrorist groups such as Jundullah and the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). The group's ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi denies his links to Washington, claiming that the terrorist network is a 'national movement'. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-17 |
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