Five Killed In Iran Near Pakistan Border
On April 18th 5 people were killed after Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers clashed with Jaish-al-Adi (JA) fighters who attempted to take control of an Iranian border post in the Mirjaveh district just 10km from the border with Pakistan.
Two IRGC soldiers were killed after an improvised explosive device went off and three JA fighters were also killed by IRGC soldiers. Iran claimed that the fighters came from the Pakistani side of the border and criticized Pakistan for supporting Jaish-al-Adl and not doing enough to combat the group.
Jaish-al-Adl also known as the Army of Justice is a Salafist group that formed in 2012 and operates between the border of Iran and Pakistan. The group has conducted kidnappings of border guards and attacks on military bases claiming that dozens of IRGC soldiers have been killed in these operations.
Jaish-al-Adl has launched multiple attacks from the Pakistani side of the border since 2012 as well as kidnappings on Iranian border security personnel. In October of 2013, 14 guards were killed during an attack on the border and then again in April of 2017 10 guards were killed.
This isn’t the only time Pakistan has been blamed for not doing enough to deter terror groups within their country. In February of this year Pakistan was nearly placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) list of countries that fail to prevent terrorism financing which was a motion promoted by the Unified States.
In March of 2014 Jaish-al-Adl abducted 5 guards killing one. After the kidnapping an Iranian foreign minister named Mohammad Zarif said that there was evidence that suggested Saudi Arabia was supporting terrorism against Iran. Saudi Arabia has historically supported Sunni Islamist groups against the Islamic Republic. In 2014 another Saudi linked group named Abdullah Azzam Brigades attacked the Iranian embassy and the Iranian culture center in Beirut Lebanon.
On the other hand, Iran’s terrorist proxies include Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen, who are currently fighting Saudi Arabia and launching missiles on a weekly basis toward their Capital, Riyadh. The missiles used by the Houthis are largely believed to be supplied directly from Iran.
On the same day as the attack on the border President Rouhani said during a speech in Tehran that Iran will acquire or produce any weapons they need to defend itself and not wait for approval from the world and “We are not living in a normal region, and we see invading powers have built bases around us.” This latest attack proves Rouhani’s point that Iran is not in a normal region and that terror groups pose a threat to their borders.
