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Sixteen hanged after 14 Iranian border guards die in attack
TEHRAN: Iranian authorities on Saturday hanged 16 “rebels” following overnight clashes between alleged rebel groups and Iranian border forces in which 14 border guards were killed on the frontier with Pakistan, a judicial official said.
“Sixteen rebels linked to groups hostile to the regime were hanged this morning in the prison of Zahedan in response to the death of border guards in Saravan,” Mohammad Marzieh, the attorney general of Sistan-Balochistan province, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
“We warned the rebel groups that any attack targeting civilians or members of the security forces would not go unanswered,” he added.
Earlier, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported armed men killed 14 border guards in clashes Friday night in a mountainous region outside the southeastern town on the border with Pakistan.
“Fourteen border guards were killed during armed clashes in the region of Saravan, and five others were wounded,” the agency quoted an informed source as saying, only identifying the gunmen as “bandits or rebels opposed to the Islamic republic”.
Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi said that the guards had been killed during the ambush set by Iranians who were “members of hostile groups”.
He claimed that “three soldiers have been taken hostage and taken to the other side of the border in Pakistan”.
Saravan lies in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balochistan near the Pakistani border and is home to a large community of minority Sunni Muslims, unlike the rest of Shia-dominated Iran.
The Sistan-Balochistan province has seen militants from the Sunni group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) launch bloody attacks in recent years.
It was still unclear whether the attackers were drug smugglers or armed opposition groups.
However, Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi called on the Pakistani government to “take measures to control the border more seriously.”
Pakistan's charge d'affaires was received at the Iranian foreign ministry to receive an official demand that Islamabad “act firmly with officials and members of terrorist groups who have fled to Pakistani territory,” IRNA reported.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, officials said a Pakistani was killed and four others injured when Iranian border force personnel opened fire in Washap area on the Pakistan-Iran border.
The apparently unrelated incident took place close to Taftan town on the Pakistani side of the border and around 100 kilometres from Zahedan, the main town in Iran’s Sistan province.
A Levies paramilitary official, who requested customary anonymity, said five Pakistanis tried to illegally enter the Iranian side of Washap area this morning when border policemen opened fire on them.
“Iranian border force opened fire when they crossed Pakistan’s border and entered the Iranian side of Washap area,” he said.
The injured were rushed to a hospital in Taftan town for medical treatment. The Levies official said all injured Pakistanis had received bullet wounds.
Security was tightened on both sides of the border soon after the incident.
Iran is a major transit route for drugs that originate in Afghanistan and is trafficked across its territory, with much of it bound for Western countries.
People smugglers also use the route to traffic illegal immigrants to Europe, via Iran and Turkey.
The Islamic republic says it is fighting a deadly war against drug traffickers who make up half its prison population.
But militant group Jundallah has also launched attacks on civilians and officials in Sistan-Balochistan, including a December 2010 suicide bombing in the city of Shabahar that killed 39 people.
Iranian authorities hanged 11 suspected members of Jundallah at Zahedan prison in December 2010 in response to the deadly bombing of the Shia mourning procession in Shabahar.
Jundallah, whose leader Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged in June 2010, has been waging a deadly insurgency in southeastern Iran for almost a decade.
The group says it is fighting for the rights of the ethnic Sunni Balochis who make up a significant part of the Iranian province’s population.
—With additonal reporting by Syed Ali Shah from Quetta.
Comments (40) Closed
why it is always happened wherever Pakistan have border.
Again we witness the brutality of this ruthless regime.
This is the way to get rid of terrorists in our midst....clash took place on friday night and the rebels were arrested and hanged next day....this is how our govt should act....learn Pakistanis learn......
Pakistan should learn something from Iran.
Good Job Iran. Pakistant should learn from Iran. If timely response and in kind is given to the terrorists, we will be able to control them in Pakistan.
Pakistan have to follow Iran in this matter!
Iran should respect humanrights. Strict actions are harbingers of great changes.
@Emran: learn what to hang people without giving them opportunity of fair trial.
We should do the same on this side of the border rather than appeasing them and writing articles justifying their acts.
Good job Iran.
what no peace talks? well done Iran and now lets do same with Taliban!
I guess peace talks did not work?
This is the way to deal with terror. Tit for tat. talking and negotiating with terror leads to nothing
@Emran: Like what? Care to explain?
Right or wrong, Iranians has shown their resolve to deal with the problem. What our law enforcers and judicial authorities do, let the law breaker go on bail to commit more crime.
Keep hanging such culprits.
Bravo!! Some countries need to learn from this episode.
Elections were successful in Baluchistan! So, rebels find it difficult to gain support from people. Pursuit of happiness. Economic freedom.
The situation in Syria will never copied in Iran.Remember Kurdish rebels getting help from Iraq in1970 when the army was weak.What happened to them?
A most barbaric acts on part of Iran inspired by sectarian hatred.
learn to tackle those who dont recognize your constitution!!!
This is the answer to rebels and terrorists. If Pakistan hang terrorists, our problems will be over. Can the current president take a lead.
That is a state's response to terrorism. I wonder how many terrorists have been convicted by our media-savvy judiciary and hanged bt our govt.
@Emran: Spot on. Do not spare them (rebels or enemy of Islam) at no cost. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers.
sharifs days are limited..
Perhaps we should do the same with the Taliban prisoners.
That's the only way to deal with criminals, terrorists. The only difference is that Iranians are not afraid of them, our politicians are.
Things are just out of control in Pakistan, we have conflicts on our eastern border and now on our western border. We have to do what ever it takes to stop this conflict, our neighbors are not going to buy our arguments that we are also victim of terrorism so we can not help it if it is hurting you also. if we make tall claim of importance of our sovereignty than back it up with strong actions other wise Iranians may cross the border to catch the people who are hurting them. This should be zero tolerance position of the government and military of Pakistan. M Khan
@Emran: Pakistan won't learn a lesson cause we have internal factions who are in league with the Taliban. Iran on the other hand is clear about who it supports (without any strings attached).
And We in Pakistan, talk to them, we tell them "look you have killed enough army personals, enough citizens, and have also killed fair-share of innocent Muslims. Now please its a humble request to please please please stop. But if you choose not to agree to this humble request what can we do.... nothing.....
@Emran: Should Pakistan learn hanging method from Iran?
@Emran: Pakistan does even know how to learn anything from anyone: Be it it friend China, brother Iran or enemy India. :)
Pakistan should learn from this and hang all TTP terrorists. They've killed 60,000 Pakistanis.
Pakistan is a global trouble maker... International community should deal with this menace with an iron hand.
@Rao: Dear Rao, Pakistan and Iran are 2 brothers. It's their internal matter. Other countries should keep their nose out of this one.
Brutality is in our Muslim gene. We just can't help it.
@NASAH (USA): Shame on you for generalizing and giving ALL muslims a bad name. You should be REALLy ashamed if you really are a muslim.
Who is a terrorist and who is not. Your own personal individual interpretation will not change the truth.
Jundullah is a taliban type of organization they are putting up a fight which they cannot win and are getting their fighters killed unnecessarily , Iran is not going to spare them unlike Pakistan where the Pakistan government has been soft on terrorists.So Jundullah should restrain their activities and re start talking to the Iranian government, Iran should also show a big heart and not be stubborn and should give rights to the Sunni Balochis in order to bring peace to that area after all these Sunni Balochis are also Iranian citizens.
@Aussie : Give it a try... and watch!
@Sam: Really Brothers???