By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - At least three simultaneous attacks have been reported on military bases and police stations in southeastern Iran’s restive Sistan and Baluchistan province on Wednesday.
Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA, citing sources, said three “terrorist operations” were carried out simultaneously late Wednesday targeting a police station and two army headquarters in the capital Chabahar and the city of Rask.
The report said at least three armed assailants had been wounded and one other killed in the operation carried out by the police. The hunt for other perpetrators continues.
The IRNA report did not mention any police casualties in the attacks, but local sources say many casualties are feared.
IRNA and other Iranian media outlets quoted the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchistan province as saying that an attempt to enter the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Rask had been foiled.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but sections of Iranian media blamed it on Jaish al-Adl, a militant group based in the border region between Iran and Pakistan.
Jaish al-Adl is an Iranian militant group that is believed to have bases in the border region of Pakistan and has claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks in Sistan and Baluchestan province in recent years.
Wednesday’s incident comes less than three months after the IRGC launched a barrage of missiles at Pakistan’s Balochistan province, allegedly targeting the headquarters of the militant group.
It was followed by a Pakistani missile strike on a village in Iran’s border province, leading to the escalation of tensions between the two neighbours.
At the same time, channels close to the separatist group Jaish al-Zalm, in an unusual move, distributed similar texts in a coordinated and simultaneous manner to make the public aware of the incident.
The deputy of security and law enforcement of Sistan and Baluchistan governorate confirmed the terrorist attack on the Rask and Chabahar military headquarters and said the situation is now under control.