2024 Chabahar and Rask clashes

Last updated

2024 Chabahar and Rask clashes
Part of the Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
Date4 April 2024
Location
Result Jaish al-Adl fails to seize IRGC headquarters
Belligerents

Flag of Iran.svg  Iran

Flag of Jaish al-Adl.svg Jaish ul-Adl
Casualties and losses
11 killed 16–18 killed

In the southeastern border province of Sistan and Balochistan, an attack on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters happened on the night of 4 April 2024. At least 11 Iranian security force members were killed in this attack. The clashes occurred in the towns of Chabahar, Rask and Sarbaz. [1] [2] Jaish ul-Adl, a Sunni armed group, was involved in the attack and lost at least 16 members during the clashes. This incident is one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Jaish ul-Adl. The region has a predominantly Sunni Muslim population and has witnessed frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and militants. [3] [4] The attack took place following an Israeli missile strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed Quds Force Brigadier-General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Contents

Jaish al-Adl in a statement announced that the purpose of this attack was to counter the Iranian government's plan titled "Makran Coastal Development Plan", which through that, the IRI goverment is building planned settlements on the coast of Baluchistan and plans to move 7 million Shia people from the Fatemiyoun and Zainbiyoun groups to this area and settle them. [9]

Background

The area, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has witnessed frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and militants as well as drug traffickers. [10] Over the past decade, Jaish ul-Adl, a Baluchi separatist militant group, [11] has consistently focused its attacks on the Revolutionary Guards in western Balochistan. However, since the "Bloody Friday" incident in Zahedan, these assaults have escalated significantly, resulting in large-scale and lethal strikes against Iranian forces. [1] Jaish ul-Adl was one of they terrorist groups that got ahold of weapons left behind after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. [11] The attack came after an Iranian airstrike targeted Jaish ul-Adl operatives, including senior commander Ismail Shahbakhsh, within Pakistani territory. Jaish ul-Adl has launched attacks against Iranian security forces, with a notable incident in December that killed 11 police personnel. [12] The group cites the pursuit of greater rights and improved living conditions for ethnic minority Baluchis in Shi'ite-dominated Iran as their rationale for the attacks. [10] Sistan and Balochistan, one of Iran’s most underdeveloped provinces, houses a discontented local population as a result of government policies. [1] Baluchis, many of whom are Sunni, have faced disproportionate discrimination for a long time. Additionally, they make up about 5% of Iran's population, but account for around 20% of all executions in Iran. [11]

The government of Iran is confronting a multitude of challenges: severe international economic sanctions, direct targeting of its interests by Israel in Syria, and ISIS attacks within its borders. Amidst the ongoing turmoil, the insurgency in Sistan and Balochistan has seized the opportunity to apply additional pressure on the struggling government. [1]

Attacks

On the night of 4 April 2024, the Jaish al-Adl militant group carried out an unprecedentedly complex and sophisticated attack targeting Iranian security forces in southeastern Iran. Coordinated and simultaneous assaults struck at least two Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) headquarters, a police station, and a naval facility in Chabahar, Rask and Sarbaz within Iran's Sistan and Balochistan Province. The attacks, which began around midnight and lasted over 13 hours, resulted in the deaths of 11 Iranian security personnel and 18 Jaish al-Adl militants. [2] [4] The gunmen stormed various security and military compounds, wearing suicide vests, but failed to seize the Guards headquarters. This attack occurred amidst heightened tensions following a suspected Israeli missile strike that hit Iran's consulate in Damascus, for which Iran pledged revenge. [13] [14] [15] [3] The IRGC commander stated that the security forces had freed the people taken hostage by the terrorists. [16]

Aftermath

Iran mobilized its forces to deal with Jaish al-Adl’s attacks at multiple locations. [12] The United Nations Security Council issued a statement condemning the attack. The Council expressed sympathy and condolences to the victims’ families and the government of Iran. It reaffirmed that terrorism poses a serious threat to international peace and security, emphasizing the need to hold perpetrators accountable and bring them to justice. [17] "Pakistan openly condemns the despicable and cowardly attack on security and police headquarters in the cities of Rask and Chabahar," stated an official Pakistani government release. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sistan and Baluchestan province</span> Province in southeastern Iran

Sistan and Baluchestan province or Asli Baluchestan is the second largest province of the 31 provinces of Iran, after Kerman province, with an area of 180,726 km2. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, and its capital is the city of Zahedan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaish-e-Mohammed</span> Islamic Jihadist organisation

Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistan-based Deobandi Jihadist terrorist group active in Kashmir. The group's primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jundallah (Iran)</span> Sunni Baloch militant organization operating in Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran

Jundallah, also known as the People's Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), was a Sunni Salafi militant organization based in Sistan and Baluchestan, a province in southeast Iran. The group shared its name with another Baloch group active in Pakistani Balochistan as part of the same insurgency, that claims to be fighting for the "equal rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Balochistan</span> Insurgency in Pakistan and Iran

The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Balochistan of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources, this is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan and Iran, and armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan. In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Pakistan relations</span> Bilateral relations

Iran and Pakistan established relations on 14 August 1947, the day of the independence of Pakistan, when Iran became the first country to recognize Pakistan. Both sides continue to cooperate economically where possible and have formed alliances in a number of areas of mutual interest, such as fighting the drug trade along their border and combating the insurgency in the Balochistan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balochistan</span> Region of southwestern Asia

Balochistan is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of desert and mountains is primarily populated by ethnic Baloch people.

Numerous civilians, including men, women, children, government officials, activists, secular intellectuals and clerics have been victims of assassination, terrorism, or violence against non-combatants, over the course of modern Iranian history. Among the most notable acts of terrorism in Iran in the 20th century have been the 1978 Cinema Rex fire and the 1990s chain murders of Iran.

The 2007 Zahedan bombings occurred from 14–17 February in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Iran. The first bombing occurred at 6:30 a.m. on February 14 when a car filled with explosives stopped in front of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards in Ahmadabad district. The car exploded, killing 18 and injuring 31 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Jundallah claimed responsibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaish ul-Adl</span> Militant separatist organization in Iran

Jaish ul-Adl, or Jaish al-Adl, is a Baloch Sunni Salafi Jihadist separatist organization that operates mainly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran, where there is a substantial Baloch population and a porous border with Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency</span> Separatist insurgency in Iran

The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations designated as terrorist organizations by the Iranian government. It began in 2004 and is part of the wider Balochistan conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar Al-Furqan</span> Baloch militant Jihadist organization

Ansar Al-Furqan is a Sunni Baloch militant organization active in Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency and a designated terrorist organization by Iran. The group was established in December 2013 by a merger of Harakat al-Ansar and Hizbul-Furqan.

Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav is an Indian national who has been incarcerated in Pakistan since 2016. The Pakistani government alleges that he is a spy for India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing and was arrested in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The Indian foreign ministry says that he was kidnapped from Iran and illegally rendered to Pakistan.

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a codename of a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation is aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It is further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation is ongoing active participation from Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 operations have been carried out against terrorists so far. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

On February 13, 2019, a suicide bombing on the Khash–Zahedan road in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran killed at least 27 Revolutionary Guards and wounded another 13. It was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Iran in years. The Salafi jihadist militant organization Jaish ul-Adl said it carried out the bombing.

Events in the year 2023 in Iran.

Events in the year 2024 in Iran.

On 15 January 2024, Iran carried out a series of aerial and drone strikes within Iraq and Syria, claiming that it had targeted the regional headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and several strongholds of terrorist groups in response to the Kerman bombings on 3 January, for which the Islamic State took responsibility. The city of Erbil, which is the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, was the target of 11 of the 15 total missiles that were fired. The remaining four missiles were directed at Syria's Idlib Governorate, targeting areas held by the Syrian opposition. In Erbil itself, the Iranian attack killed four civilians and injured 17 others. Iran's claims of having targeted the Israeli presence in Kurdistan and terrorist groups in Syria were rejected by the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdish government, both of which condemned the attack.

On 16 January 2024, Iran carried out a series of missile and drone strikes within Pakistan's Balochistan province, claiming that it had targeted the Iranian Baloch militant group Jaish ul-Adl. The incident occurred one day after Iran carried out a similar series of aerial and drone strikes within Iraq and Syria, claiming that it had targeted the regional headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and several strongholds of terrorist groups in response to the Kerman bombings on 3 January, for which the Islamic State took responsibility. The Pakistani government condemned the attack, stating that Iran had killed two children and calling it an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistan's airspace.

On 18 January 2024, Pakistan launched a series of air and artillery strikes inside Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, targeting Baloch separatist groups, codenamed Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar by Pakistan. The attack was launched in response to the Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan's Balochistan province, one day earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Iran–Pakistan border skirmishes</span> Part of the Insurgency in Balochistan

On 16 January 2024, Iran conducted a series of missile strikes in Pakistan, asserting that it had targeted militants of the Baloch separatist group Jaish ul-Adl in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. This attack occurred one day after a similar series of Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, which the Iranian government had stated were in response to the Kerman bombings by the Islamic State on 3 January. Pakistan's government condemned the strikes as an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistani airspace and stated that two children had been killed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jaish-ul-Adl Attacks on Iran - TBP Editorial". The Balochistan Post. 6 April 2024. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Attack on IRGC posts in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province leaves 28 dead". News9Live. Associated Press. 4 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 "At least 11 killed in attack on Iran's IRGC in border province: State media". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 "At least 27 dead as militants attack Iran security forces, state media reports". NBC News. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  5. "Iran foils terrorist attack on SE country (+VIDEO)". Mehr News Agency. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  6. "Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, April 4". Big News Network.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  7. "Terrorist attack on Irans Chabahar from Pakistans soilAt least two terrorists were killedThe situation is under control | AVA". Afghan Voice Agency (AVA). 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  8. "Iran Kills 18 Terrorists In Sistan And Baluchistan Province – Iran Front Page". ifpnews.com. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  9. "Detailed statement of chain operations of Ramadan-ol-Mokarram". Justice Network. 4 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 "At least 27 dead as militants attack Iran security forces, state media reports". NBC News. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 "What Is Jaish Al-Adl, The Separatist Group Targeting Iranian Forces?". RFE/RL. 11 April 2024. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  12. 1 2 Bureau, News Intervention (4 April 2024). "Pak Army backed terrorist group Jaish-al-Adal attacks Sistan-Balochistan in Iran". News Intervention. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  13. "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  14. "IRGC Strikes Jaysh al-Adl Headquarters in Pakistan | Atlas News". 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  15. "Baluch Insurgents Jaish ul-Adl Attack 2 Cities in Southeast Iran". EA WorldView. 5 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  16. "All 18 terrorists killed by security forces in SE Iran: IRGC". nournews. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  17. "Security Council Press Statement on Terrorist Attack in Rasak, Sistan and Baluchistan, Islamic Republic of Iran | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". press.un.org. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  18. "Pakistan condemns terrorist attack in Iran's border region". Tehran Times. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.