Five killed in courthouse attack in Iran’s San-Baluchestan province, Iranian media report | World News
An armed attack the Sunni Jaish al-Adl Baluch group on a courthouse in Iran’s restive southeastern San-Baluchestan province killed at least five people and injured 13, Iranian media reported. Three assailants were also killed in the ensuing clashes with security forces, a senior police official told the state news agency IRNA.
He said a mother and child were among those killed the gunmen who threw a hand grenade into the building in Zahedan, the capital of San-Baluchestan.
In a statement posted on its Telegram account, Jaish al-Adl took responsibility for the attack and urged “all civilians to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety”.
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The Baluch human rights group HAALVSH, quoting eyewitnesses, said several judiciary staff members and security personnel were killed or wounded when the assailants stormed the judges’ chambers.
San-Baluchestan province, near the borders with Pakan and Afghanan, is home to Iran’s Sunni Muslim Baluch minority, who have long complained of economic marginalisation and political exclusion.
The province frequently sees clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separats who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy. The Iranian government accuses some of them of ties to foreign powers and involvement in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
