10 Security Forces, 18 Militants Killed In Southeastern Iran

Fars news website, affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, has compared the attack by Sunni militants on its bases with the Moscow theater terror attack last month, where 139 civilians were killed.

Fars implies in a report that few civilians were harmed in Iran and all attackers were killed, while in Moscow not only just four assailants were able to kill a large number of people, but they were able to flee the scene.

Fars has also repeated claims by Iranian government sources that the gunmen who attacked multiple military and police buildings were mostly non-Iranian “hired terrorists”, who received no assistance from the local population.

Political commentator Ali-Hossein Ghazizadeh told Iran International that the operation by Jaish ul-Adl was unprecedented in the history of the group's attacks.

Describing it as “the biggest intelligence and security failure of the Islamic Republic in the past few decades, he said it was the biggest attack by a militant group “in terms of the geographical scope, the manpower, the military equipment, and the operational planning.

The operation showed that the gaps in Iran’s security apparatus are so wide that its forces are struggling to contain such threats, he said, claiming that the Iranian government seems unable to prevent future attacks by the Sunni militia.

Majid Mirahmadi, Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement, said two people who had facilitated the operation in Chabahar were arrested by the security forces. He emphasized that the two were not Iranian nationals. He did not elaborate how they provided logistical support to the militants.

Media in Tehran said that at the start of the clashes in Rask, Jaish ul-Adl militants opened fire on the IRGC base from the heights near Rask Hospital. The IRGC forces responded in kind, killing and wounding several militants.

Some of the militants attempted to enter the base by detonating an explosion, but they the IRGC fighters resisted the raid with heavy fire. The explosion caused some damage to the base, but the militants were unable to breach the perimeter.

The commander of the IRGC headquarters in Yazd province said at least 15 members of their unit have been hospitalized due to the injuries sustained during the clashes in Rask. Second Brigadier General Hossein Zare' Kamali said that members of the IRGC unit had been deployed to Sistan-Baluchestan province to help secure Iran’s southeastern borders. Authorities have not released the exact number of the injured military personnel.

Majid Mirahmadi, Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement, has said that "all perpetrators of the armed attacks in Rask and Chabahar were non-Iranian."

The public relations office of IRGC Ground Force’s headquarters for the southeastern part of Iran announced Friday that the militants attacked five public places and military bases in two cities of Chabahar and Rask. In its statement, the IRGC claimed that the militants were linked to the intelligence agencies of foreign countries without elaborating. It said the final death toll is 10 Iranian military forces and 18 militants.

Major General Mohammad Pakpour, the Commander of the IRGC Ground Force, has confirmed that at least 10 Iranian military personnel have been killed in the clashes. He said, "15 of the terrorists have been killed, with a possibility of the number rising to 18."

Iran’s state media claims that by Thursday noon, clashes and gunfire have ceased, with Revolutionary Guards now focused on clearing the area and tracking potential perpetrators.

Jaish ul-Adl has denied remarks byIran’s deputy interior minister about the hostage-taking of several people in a residential house. IRGC-affiliated media has published video of a man who thanks security forces for saving him and his sister from the militants.

In response to the attacks, the spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry has issued a message of condemnation, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts between Pakistan and Iran to combat terrorism. The spokesperson stated, "Pakistan has requested joint action with Iran on terrorism."

The armed attack was a coordinated operation, with Jaish ul-Adl announcing via video on their Telegram channel that members of the group had seized control of the IRGC base and its arms depot in Rask.

Iranian forces were caught off-guard and the ensuing exchange of fire lasted for several hours. Clashes were reported in Chabahar, Rask and Sarbaz in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Conflicting reports from sources on the two sides make it almost impossible to draw an accurate picture of what happened late on Wednesday local time, and the apparent continuation of clashes on Thursday.

Jaish al-Adl, the militant group taking responsibility for the attacks, has a long history of targeting Iranian armed forces, especially the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), in areas bordering Pakistan. It has been on the US foreign terrorist organization list since 2010, and has on occasion killed civilians in bombings.