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Iranian armed forces during a military exercise in 2020

Photo: Wana News Agency / REUTERS

Militants have carried out a major attack on bases of the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in southeastern Iran. Fifteen attackers and five security personnel were killed, state news agency Irna reported, citing IRGC ground force commander Mohammed Pakpur. The attacks took place at night on military facilities in the cities of Rask and Chabahar in the province of Sistan and Balochistan.

More than ten members of the Revolutionary Guard were injured in the riots that began on Wednesday evening, said Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi. According to the Revolutionary Guard, at least 15 attackers were killed in clashes with security forces. State broadcast videos showed exchanges of gunfire in street battles. Security forces have now brought the cities back under control, Iranian media reported.

The militant group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack. According to her own statements, she is fighting for independence in southeastern Iran. A few months ago, the city of Rask was the scene of fighting between the group and Iran's security forces. On her Telegram channel, Jaish al-Adl claimed to have attacked at least six military facilities. She called on residents in the region to stay in their homes.

The information from the province could not be independently verified. Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni rebel group, has intensified its attacks in the past year. Most of the province's residents follow the Sunni branch of Islam, in contrast to the Shiite state religion. The United States and Iran have classified the group as a terrorist organization.

Unrest has been occurring regularly for years in the province of Sistan-Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. Jaish al-Adl had already claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in Rask in December, in which eleven police officers were killed. In mid-January, Iran's Revolutionary Guards shelled the militant group's positions in neighboring Pakistan, where their retreat areas are said to be located. This temporarily led to severe discord between Tehran and Islamabad. In July, two police officers and four attackers were killed in an attack on a police station in the provincial capital Sahedan.

New figures on executions in Iran – including many Baluchis

According to Amnesty International, 853 people were executed in Iran last year - more than ever since 2015. The number is 48 percent higher than in 2022, according to a report published by the human rights organization.

The organization says that more than half of the executions last year were carried out in connection with drug-related offenses. The human rights activists also criticize the high proportion of the Baloch minority among those executed.

According to Amnesty, Iran carries the death penalty for a wide range of crimes, including financial crimes, rape and armed robbery. Last year, the executions of people who took part in the nationwide demonstrations following the death of the Iranian Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022 caused international horror. According to Amnesty, this affected six men in 2023. At least seven other people have been sentenced to death in connection with the demonstrations and are in immediate danger. There are no official figures on executions.

lpz/AFP/dpa