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Baloch Militant Group Intensifies Attack on Iran’s South-Eastern Province

By Nigar Bayramli November 2, 2024

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This picture shows a group of the Jaish al-Adl militant group at an undisclosed location. / Press TV

Iranian border guards foiled an attempted infiltration by members of a militant group in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan on October 30.

“The terrorist group members fired at a police station in the Sarkur area of Sarbaz County in an attempt to infiltrate but failed. They fled the scene after facing a resolute response,” IRIB News quoted the provincial police department’s statement as saying.

The statement added that “efforts are underway to apprehend the Jaish al-Adl terrorists” and confirmed there were no casualties in the attempted attack.

Meanwhile, the Baloch militant group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram account, asserting that at least three military personnel had been killed or wounded in the skirmish. The group also stated that a patrol vehicle carrying border guards was targeted, resulting in one fatality and one injury.

Reports of clashes between militant groups and Iranian security forces have risen in recent weeks. Jaish al-Adl also claimed responsibility for an October 26 attack on an Iranian police convoy in the Goharkuh district of Taftan County, which killed 10 officers.

The following day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Base announced it had detained four terrorists, neutralized four others, and wounded several members involved in the attack.

On October 2, Iranian security forces reportedly killed three members of Jaish al-Adl during clashes in the southern part of the province near the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders. A day prior, six people, including the IRGC commander in the town of Bent, Nikshahr County, were killed at a student ceremony, while Jaish al-Adl also claimed responsibility for the killing of two police officers in Khash County.

In late September, four Iranian armed forces personnel were killed and three others wounded in a series of confrontations with Jaish al-Adl militants in Hirmand, Khash, Sib-o-Suran and Zahedan.

The economically struggling Sistan-Baluchestan province, a known entry point for smuggled arms and drugs, has seen ongoing unrest. On October 28, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledged to promote “unity and cohesion” in the province at a meeting with the Strategic Council of Sistan-Baluchestan.

In January, Iran launched strikes against Jaish al-Adl bases inside Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Pakistan responded by targeting terrorist hideouts in Sistan-Baluchestan near the border.

For over 20 years, Baluch nationalists have waged a low-level insurgency in Sistan-Baluchestan, advocating for independence. Militant groups such as Ansar al-Furqan and Jaish al-Adl have intensified attacks against Iranian forces, claiming to defend the Sunni minority in predominantly Shia Iran. Iran considers Jaish al-Adl a foreign-backed terrorist organization.

Similarly, Pakistan’s Balochistan province faces a low-intensity insurgency from separatist militants allied with Iranian Baloch groups, further complicating regional security.