A deadly attack on an Iranian police station in Rask, Sistan-Baluchestan province, left 11 officers dead and dozens wounded on Thursday night, as reported by Iranian State News Agency (IRNA).
Ali Reza Marhemati, the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province, told IRNA that senior police officers and soldiers were among the casualties in the assault that occurred in Rask town, situated approximately 875 miles southwest of Tehran. He noted that police successfully neutralized several attackers in a shootout.
Majid Mirahmadi, Iran’s deputy interior minister, told state TV that the attack resulted in six Iranian police officers being wounded. He added that two gunmen were killed during the incident, and one was arrested.
The attack was one of the deadliest in recent years in the region, located close to Iran’s borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. The ISNA news agency published footage of a helicopter searching for the attackers in the mountainous terrain of the region.
The Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), a Sunni armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel. Founded in 2012 by Salahuddin Farooqui, the militant group operating in Sistan and Baluchestan, has previously claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks on Iranian security forces, including bombings, ambushes, and other violent actions. In February 2019, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in southern Iran, resulting in the death of at least 27 members. A month earlier, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a double bombing in Zahedan, the provincial capital, which left three Iranian police officers injured.
Sistan-Baluchestan, one of Iran’s least developed regions, has witnessed heightened tensions in recent months, including crackdowns on protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody.
The majority Sunni region has been a focal point for anti-government protests, with the Baluch people expressing grievances about perceived second-class treatment by the Iranian government.
