TEHRAN: Iranian security forces arrested a person allegedly linked to a suicide blast that killed a police commander, state media reported on Sunday, after the rare attack in Hormozgan province.

The attack took place on Saturday in the southern coastal city of Bandar-e Lengeh, Iranian media reported.

On Sunday the separatist jihadist group, Ansar al-Furqan, claimed credit for the attack, according to SITE Intelligence Group which quoted the Ansar al-Furqan Telegram channel.

The official IRNA news agency reported that “one person was arrested following the deadly terrorist attack.” It did not give further details including the suspect’s identity.

IRNA said the suicide blast also killed the attacker, whose identity “has not yet been accurately identified and investigations are ongoing,” the agency quoted Ehsan Kamarani, the deputy provincial governor, as saying.

He added that “the evidence shows that he was affiliated with takfiri groups”, terminology used by Iran to describe Sunni groups.

Ansar al-Furqan in 2018 claimed responsibility for driving an explosive-laden car into a police station in Chabahar, in Sistan-Baluchistan province adjacent to Hormozgan. Two officers were killed.

Sistan-Baluchistan, an area long plagued by unrest, in October saw 10 police officers killed in what Iranian media called a “terrorist attack”. The Jaish al-Adl (Arabic for Army of Justice) claimed responsiblity.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024