Iran soldier killed in rebel attack on Pakistan border
Agence France-Presse
September 10, 2014
An Iranian soldier was killed and two pro-government militiamen were wounded in a rebel attack on a border post with Pakistan in southeast Iran, state news agency IRNA reported Wednesday.
Commander Ramezan Sharif of the Revolutionary Guards, quoted by IRNA, said a soldier of the elite force was killed and two bassiji Islamist militia volunteers were wounded.
He identified the assailants as members of Jaish-ul Adl (Army of Justice), a Sunni extremist group, and said they suffered "heavy losses" in the attack in the Saravan region on Tuesday.
The survivors fled into Pakistan, the officer said.
The same group captured five Iranian soldiers in February, four of whom were released in April. The fate of the other man remains unknown.
The border province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which has a large Sunni Muslim community in an otherwise predominantly Shiite country, is the scene of frequent attacks by Sunni extremists and is a major drug smuggling route.
Iran says Afghan, Pakistani IS volunteers arrested
The Iranian interior ministry did not specify how many were arrested or where.
By AFP
September 8, 2014
TEHRAN: Afghan and Pakistani nationals who were planning to join the ranks of Islamic State militants (IS) fighting in Syria and Iraq have been arrested in Iran, a government minister announced Monday.
“People from Afghanistan and Pakistan wanted to cross Iran but we prevented them passing and we have arrested others,” Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said, linking them to IS.
The report, carried by the official IRNA news agency, did not specify how many arrests had been made or where the detentions occurred.
“Our forces are particularly vigilant in the border areas given that they face threats from terrorist groups,” the minister added.
Iran and Iraq, predominantly Shia states, have strengthened their ties since the fall of the latter’s Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion launched in 2003, and the subsequent occupation.
US troops left Iraq in 2011 but the rapid advance of IS into Iraq from Syria in June forced Washington to send military advisers to Baghdad and cooperation has since expanded to air strikes on militant targets.
Iran has also sent military assistance to Iraq but has denied that it has any troops on the ground.
Iran’s Borders Secure: Interior Ministry
September 11, 2014
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Interior Ministry Spokesman Hossein Ali Amiri said the country's border areas are entirely secure.
Amiri underlined Iran’s security and police forces’ good control in border areas and said the armed forces, especially the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), are fully prepared (to protect the borders against any threats).
He referred to the recent cross-border attack in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan and said a joint Iran-Pakistan committee will be formed in the near future to address the issue.
Amiri reiterated that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities against Iran.
On Tuesday, the IRGC thwarted a terrorist attack on a border outpost in Saravan, Sistan and Balouchestan near border with Pakistan.
The raid was jointly foiled by forces from IRGC Ground Force’s Quds Base and local Basij volunteers.
The armed terrorists and thugs hailing from Pakistani territory intended to capture the border outpost but were inflicted heavy losses and forced to flee.
The IRGC said one of its forces was martyred and two Basij forces were injured in the attack.
In February 2013, Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement which requires both sides to take strict measures to combat terrorism and human and drug trafficking.
But the Pakistani side has frequently failed to fulfil its obligations under the agreement.
In February this year, five Iranian border guards were kidnapped by a terrorist group in Jakigour region in Iran’s Sistan and Balouchestan province and taken to Pakistan.
Four of the five were released and returned home after being held hostage for two months but the fate of the fifth one still remains unclear.
