Iranian soldiers ambushed, killed by armed group

By Abduljabbar Aburas

TEHRAN

Ten Iranian soldiers were killed in an ambush by the Jaish al-Adl, an armed Sunni group, near Iran’s border with Pakistan, according to the Iranian Tasnim News Agency.

The attack reportedly took place Wednesday in the Mirjaveh region of Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, the news agency reported.

It went on to note that the Jaish al-Adl (“Army of Justice”), which claims to support Sunni rights in Shia Iran, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that three Iranian border guards had been killed in a skirmish with gunmen near the Iran-Pakistan border.

In a Thursday statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi called on Islamabad to rein in armed groups operating on its territory.

The Sistan-Baluchestan province has recently witnessed sporadic clashes between Iranian security forces and the Jaish al-Adl, which Tehran accuses of receiving support from foreign intelligence agencies.

According to semi-official statistics, 10 percent of Iranians -- mainly Kurds and Balochs -- are Sunni-Muslims.