Nine people were killed Saturday when unknown assailants launched a gun and grenade attack at a courthouse in southeastern , local media reported.
The assault happened in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, near the borders with and .
The province frequently sees clashes between security forces and armed groups, including the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which has demanded greater rights and autonomy for Iran’s ethnic Baloch.
What do we know about the attack?
State news agency IRNA reported that the attack targeted a courthouse in Zahedan, the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province.
Zahedan lies some 1,130 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
The province’s deputy police commander, Alireza Daliri, said the attackers attempted to enter the building disguised as visitors.
The assailants threw a grenade into the building, Daliri said, killing several people inside.
The dead included at least six civilians — including a mother and child — and three assailants, IRNA reported.
More than a dozen others were injured.
Citing eyewitnesses, the Baluch human rights group HAALVSH said several judiciary staff members and security personnel were killed or wounded.
IRNA said the three dead gunmen were killed in clashes with security forces following the attack.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online news site labeled the killings a “terrorist attack.”
Who are Iran’s Baloch ethnic minority?
Sistan-Baluchistan province is home to Iran’s Baloch minority, who have long complained of economic marginalisation and political exclusion.
The province is one of the least developed parts of Iran. Baloch are typically Sunni Muslims, whereas Iran is majority Shiite.
The Baloch homeland extends into , where residents have expressed similar grievances of economic marginalization and where the .
Who claimed responsibility for the courthouse attack?
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency blamed the attack on the militant group Jaish al-Adl.
The group, which is composed mainly of ethnic Baloch members, is known for its .
Jaish al-Adl, which emerged in 2012, aims to secure greater rights and independence for the Baloch people in Iran.
In a statement posted on its Telegram account, the group took responsibility for the attack.
The statement urged “all civilians to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety.”
In January 2024, Jaish al-Adl claimed to have assassinated three Revolutionary Guards officials, including Colonel Hossein-Ali Javdanfar, commander of the Sistan-Baluchistan Corps of the Quds Force.
A few months later, the group launched coordinated attacks in the cities of Chabahar, Rask, and Sarbaz, targeting IRGC, naval, intelligence, and police facilities.
Twenty-one security personnel and 18 militants were killed.
The Iranian government accuses the group of ties to foreign powers and involvement in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
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