2024 Chabahar and Rask clashes

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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
16 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 16 Iranian security force members were killed in this attack. The clashes occurred in the towns of Chabahar, Rask and Sarbaz. [1] [2] [3] 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. [4] [5] 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. [6] [7] [8] [9]

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 government 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. [10]

Background

The area, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has witnessed frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and militants as well as drug traffickers. [11] Over the past decade, Jaish ul-Adl, a Baluchi separatist militant group, [12] 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. [12] 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. [13] 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. [11] 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. [12]

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 16 Iranian security personnel and 18 Jaish al-Adl militants. [2] [5] 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. [14] [15] [16] [4] The IRGC commander stated that the security forces had freed the people taken hostage by the terrorists. [17]

Aftermath

Iran mobilized its forces to deal with Jaish al-Adl’s attacks at multiple locations. [13] 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. [18] "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. [19]

Related Research Articles

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

Sistan and Baluchestan province is the second largest of the 31 Provinces of Iran, after Kerman Province, with an area of 180,726 km2. Its capital is the city of Zahedan. The province is in the southeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps</span> Military organization in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Whereas the Iranian Army protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC's constitutional mandate is to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic. Most interpretations of this mandate assert that it entrusts the IRGC with preventing foreign interference in Iran, thwarting coups by the traditional military, and crushing "deviant movements" that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jundallah (Iran)</span> Iranian terrorist group (2003–2011)

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, also spelled Baluchistan or Baluchestan, 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.

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 the Research and Analysis Wing, India's intelligence agency, 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 was 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 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 was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the 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 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021. 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.

The following is an outline of English language Wikipedia articles related to Pakistan's military history from 1947.

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>

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

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