View Full Version : Senior Iran Guards commanders killed in attack
incarcerated
10-18-2009, 02:24
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59H0AH20091018
Senior Iran Guards commanders killed in attack
Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:03am EDT
TEHRAN (Reuters) - At least two senior commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards were assassinated in volatile southeastern Iran on Sunday, in an attack in which 60 people were killed or wounded, Iranian media reported.
The two commanders were the deputy head of the Guards' ground forces, General Nourali Shoushtari, and the Guards' commander in Sistan-Baluchestan province, General Mohammadzadeh, news agencies reported.
"Several Iranian military officers killed in terrorist attack," state Press TV said in a breaking news headline.
The official IRNA news agency, citing an unconfirmed report, said the Guards officials were on their way to a meeting of tribal leaders when they were attacked.
The semi-official Fars News Agency said they were attacked by unknown assailants, without giving details.
Sistan-Baluchestan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is the frequent scene of clashes between security forces, Sunni rebels and drug traffickers.
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Update:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpWpReHv8iWIFgWQQms1aWxfRYmgD9BDCIQ83
Revolutionary Guard commanders killed in Iran bomb
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI (AP) – 36 minutes ago
TEHRAN, Iran — A suicide bomber killed at least 20 people Sunday, including five senior commanders of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, in southeastern Iran, the country's official news agency reported.
The IRNA news agency said the dead included the deputy commander of the Guard's ground force, Gen. Noor Ali Shooshtari, as well as the Guard's chief provincial commander, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh. Dozens of others were wounded, the report said.
The commanders were inside a car on their way to a meeting in the Pishin region near Iran's border with Pakistan when an attacker with explosives blew himself up, IRNA said.
....There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion would likely fall on the Sunni militant group Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, which has carried out attacks against the Revolutionary Guard and against Shiite targets in southeastern Iran.
In May, the group took credit for a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 25 people in Zahedan, the capital of Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province, which has witnessed some of Jundallah's worst attacks. Thirteen members of the faction were convicted in the attack and hanged in July.
Jundallah, comprising Sunnis from the Baluchi ethnic minority, have waged a low-level insurgency in recent years, accusing the mostly Shiite government of persecution.
Jundallah has carried out bombings, kidnappings and other attacks against Iranian soldiers and other forces in recent years, including a car bombing in February 2007 that killed 11 members of the Revolutionary Guard near Zahedan.
Jundallah also claimed responsibility for the December 2006 kidnapping of seven Iranian soldiers in the Zahedan area. It threatened to kill them unless members of the group in Iranian prisons were released. The seven were released a month later, apparently after negotiations through tribal mediators.
skylinedrive
10-18-2009, 03:42
Iranian commanders assassinated
Several top commanders in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have been killed in a suicide bombing in the volatile south-east of the country.
Iranian state media say at least 20 people have died in the attack, in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, and dozens more injured.
The commanders were in Pishin region for a meeting with tribal leaders.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was condemned by Iran's Parliamentary Speaker.
Iran has previously accused a Sunni resistance group, Jundallah, of terrorist activities in the province.
Sistan-Baluchistan is mainly made up of the Baluchi ethnic group, who belong to the Sunni Muslim minority of Shia-ruled Iran.
'Terrorist' attack
The deputy commander of the Guards' ground force, General Noor Ali Shooshtari, and the Guards' chief provincial commander, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh, were among the dead, Irna state news agency reported.
Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, speaking at an open session of parliament which was broadcast live of state radio, said: "We express our condolences for their martyrdom.
SISTAN-BALUCHISTAN ATTACKS May 2009 A bomb explodes at a mosque in the provincial capital Zahedan, killing 19 and injuring 60.
February 2007 Suspected militants killed 11, including Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in a bomb attack in the provincial capital Zahedan.
March 2006 Gunmen posing as police kill 22 people, many government employees, after closing the Zabol-Zahedan road.
"The intention of the terrorists was definitely to disrupt security in Sistan-Baluchistan Province."
Within hours of the attack, the Guards accused "foreign elements" - usually used to refer to the US - for the attack.
"Surely foreign elements, particularly those linked to the global arrogance, were involved in this attack," a Guards statement quoted by state television said.
Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been affected by smuggling, drug trafficking, banditry and kidnapping.
Jundallah, also known as the Popular Resistance Movement of Iran, says it is fighting against the political and religious oppression of the country's Sunni minority.
In May, three men were executed for their role in a bombing of a mosque during evening prayers which killed at least 19 people in the south-east city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan.
The hangings came two days after the attack and the men were in custody on other charges at the time of the bombing.
Revolutionary Guards were among 11 people killed in an attack in 2007 in Zahedan.
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8312964.stm
Published: 2009/10/18 09:16:09 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Wow, getting a taste of their own medicine (what they export) in their own AO.
Could be interesting to see what happens. Maybe a coalition of "ragheads" to stomp the bad guys....we'll see. But....who do they think is "bad", hhmm.
Or maybe (put on tinfoil hat)...well I'll leave that up to your imagination.
Musta been a couple of those poofters Iran claims doesn't exist in their proper Islamic society. :p :rolleyes:
Richard
Utah Bob
10-18-2009, 08:40
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33366170/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa
TEHRAN, Iran - A suicide bomber killed five senior commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guard and at least 26 others in an area of southeastern Iran on Sunday, state media reported.
The official IRNA news agency said the dead included the deputy commander of the Guard's ground force, Gen. Noor Ali Shooshtari, as well as a chief provincial Guard commander for the area, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh. The other dead were Guard members or local tribal leaders. Dozens of others were wounded, the report said.
The commanders were inside a car on their way to a meeting with local tribal leaders in the Pishin district near Iran's border with Pakistan when an attacker with explosives blew himself up, IRNA said.
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Iran's state-owned English language TV channel, Press TV, said there were two simultaneous explosions: one at the meeting and another targeting an additional convoy of Guards on their way to the gathering.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the region in Iran's southeast has been the focus of violent attacks by a militant group from Iran's Sunni Muslim minority called Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, which has waged a low-level insurgency in recent years.
Tehran accuses the United States of backing Jundallah to create instability in the country but Washington denies this.
Jundallah accuses Iran's Shiite-dominated government of persecution and has carried out attacks against the Revolutionary Guard and Shiite targets in the southeast.
State broadcaster IRIB said the attack occurred in the morning at the gates of a conference hall in the city of Sarbaz in Sistan-Baluchistan. The province is the scene of frequent clashes between security forces, Sunni rebels and drug traffickers.
However, the Guard themselves accused "foreign elements" linked to the United States of involvement and state television also pointed the finger at Britain, another traditional foe of Iran.
'Professional terrorists'
The attack and the allegations of foreign involvement are likely to raise tension between Iran and the West, a day before nuclear talks in Vienna including Iranian, U.S., French and Russian officials.
"Some informed sources said the British government was directly involved in the terrorist attack ... by organizing, supplying equipment and employing professional terrorists," state television said.
The television report said analysts believed the aim of the attack was to "re-direct" parts of the West's problems in Afghanistan across the border to Iran.
A Foreign Office spokesman in London declined to comment directly on the Iranian comments and instead issued a statement, saying: "The British government condemns the terrorist attack in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan in Iran and the sad loss of life which it caused.
"Terrorism is abhorrent wherever it occurs. Our sympathies go to those who have been killed in the attack and to their families," it said.
The Guard is an elite force seen as fiercely loyal to the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. It handles security in sensitive border areas.
The Guard commanders targeted Sunday were heading to a meeting with local tribal leaders to promote unity between the Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities.
Comprising Sunnis from the Baluchi ethnic minority, Jundallah have waged a low-level insurgency in recent years, accusing the mostly Shiite government of persecution.
In May, the group took credit for a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 25 people in Zahedan, the capital of Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province, which has witnessed some of Jundallah's worst attacks. Thirteen members of the faction were convicted in the attack and hanged in July.
Jundallah has carried out bombings, kidnappings and other attacks against Iranian soldiers and other forces in recent years, including a car bombing in February 2007 that killed 11 members of the Revolutionary Guard near Zahedan.
Jundallah also claimed responsibility for the December 2006 kidnapping of seven Iranian soldiers in the Zahedan area. It threatened to kill them unless members of the group in Iranian prisons were released. The seven were released a month later, apparently after negotiations through tribal mediators.
Us? Back an insurgency? Why, whatever do they mean?
incarcerated
10-18-2009, 12:06
What is not coming through clearly in most of the news reports on this is that there were two separate attacks. Two IRGC Brigadier Generals were killed at a tribal meeting, and another four IRGC officers were killed by an IED that targeted their convoy. Both events took place in the Pishin region near the Pakistan border, and were nearly simultaneous. The current numbers are six IRGC officers and 30 others dead.
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20091018_iran_dual_attacks_sistan_balochistan
.
incarcerated
10-19-2009, 01:31
Death toll now reported at 42.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125585233185992507.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Pop ular
Interesting "developments" in the region.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3792320,00.html
H
incarcerated
10-25-2009, 20:11
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aFLzYGMzKcqM
Gunmen Shoot Dead Pakistani Provincial Minister in Baluchistan
By Ed Johnson
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Gunmen shot dead a local government minister in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, where secessionist militants are demanding a greater share of the region’s gas and mineral wealth.
Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed Khan was killed yesterday near his home in the provincial capital, Quetta, when attackers riding a motorcycle opened fire on his car with automatic weapons, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The Baluchistan United Liberation Front, a separatist group waging an insurgency in the province bordering Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the Associated Press reported....
bravo22b
10-26-2009, 13:16
Pakistan 'holds elite Iran force'
Eleven members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards force have been arrested in Pakistan after illegally entering the country, police there say.
They were detained in Mashkel near the Pakistan-Iran border, they added.
It comes eight days after a suicide bomb killed 42 people, among them six Revolutionary Guard commanders, in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province.
Iran said a Sunni militant group had launched the attack from Pakistan. Islamabad denied any involvement.
Pakistani officials said the 11 Revolutionary Guards arrested on Monday were being questioned. Two vehicles were also reportedly seized.
Last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Pakistan to arrest the attackers, believed to belong to a group called Jundallah, or Soldiers of God.
Pakistan condemned the bombing and said it would co-operate in the search for those responsible.
But Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit dismissed Iranian claims that Jundallah's leader was in Pakistan.
Tehran had previously accused the US of contributing to the attack. The US dismissed the accusation.
'Fighting oppression'
According to Iranian state media, one or more suicide bombers targeted the group of Revolutionary Guards leaders, who had arranged to meet tribal leaders in Iran's Pishin district close to the Pakistani border.
The deputy commander of the Guards' ground force and the Guards' chief provincial commander were among six officers killed. Dozens of people were injured.
Jundallah has previously been accused by Iran of terrorist activities in the province.
The province borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has long been affected by smuggling, drug trafficking, banditry and kidnapping.
Jundallah, also known as the Popular Resistance Movement of Iran, says it is fighting against the political and religious oppression of the country's minority Sunni Muslims.
Local media cited officials as saying Jundallah had accepted responsibility for Sunday's bombing, though there was no direct claim from the group.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8326517.stm
incarcerated
10-27-2009, 22:35
Yemen: Authorities Seize Weapons-Laden Ship With Iranian Crew
October 26, 2009 | 1808 GMT
Yemeni authorities seized a vessel carrying weapons thought to have been destined for Shiite rebels in northern Yemen, Reuters reported Oct. 26, citing a provincial Yemeni official. The ship's five-man Iranian crew was detained, an official in Yemen's Haja province told Reuters. Officials from the central government declined to comment.
www.stratfor.com
incarcerated
02-23-2010, 05:47
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Iran-Says-Leader-of-Jundallah-Militant-Group-Arrested-85028327.html
Iran: Arrested Sunni Militant Leader Had Help From US
23 February 2010
Iranian officials say the head of a Sunni militant group was arrested outside the country, and that he had links to the United States.
Iranian state media report security forces detained Abdolmalek Rigi Tuesday on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan.
Rigi is the leader of the militant group Jundallah, which has been blamed for a number of deadly attacks in Iran.
Iran's intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi is quoted by state television as saying Rigi was at a U.S. military base 24 hours before his capture and that Americans had issued him an Afghan passport.
Iran has accused the United States of funding Jundallah in an effort to destabilize the Iranian government. Washington denies the charge.
Iran, which says the group is based in Pakistan, asked that country to hand over Rigi after Jundallah claimed responsibility for a bombing in Iran in October.
Fifty-seven people were killed in that attack in Sistan-Baluchestan province, including members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.