Security forces kill 1, injure 3 in Iran's restive southeast
A Baluch woman was killed and three other civilians injured during a raid on a village in Khash, in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to rights groups.
According to rights group Halvash, which covers developments in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, security and military forces launched an assault on the village to search residents' homes without a judicial warrant.
When the villagers protested, the officers responded with gunfire, resulting in the death of one woman. A teenager was also among the injured in the shooting, Halvash reported.
The report indicates that military forces obstructed emergency services from accessing the area to transport the injured to the hospital, forcing villagers to use private vehicles to transfer the wounded to Khash Hospital.
Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported on the operation, stating that a four-member team transporting explosive materials for Jaish al-Adl was apprehended in the village of Qaderabad.
The separatist militia has refuted the Islamic Republic's allegations regarding the arrest of four individuals linked to the organization in Qaderabad, Khash.
In their official statement, the Baluch group, designated a terror group by Iran, the US and Pakistan, proclaimed: "The regime's propaganda concerning the apprehension of four Jaish al-Adl members in Qaderabad, Khash, is a blatant falsehood and an attempt to justify and cover up the atrocity committed by the notorious security forces in this village.
"The opening of fire by Khamenei's agents on ordinary civilians in Qaderabad, resulting in a grievous crime, is a despicable and abhorrent act that, God willing, will not remain unanswered."
Jaish al-Adl, an insurgent Sunni Baluch group, advocates for an independent Balochistan encompassing Baluch populations on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border.
The group has conducted numerous major operations in Iran's southeastern region.
In June, the group announced that it had identified and apprehended nine key members of a "terrorist and espionage" network affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, comprising Iranian and Pakistani nationals, as well as members of the former Afghan government's armed forces.
One of the most intense confrontations between the group and Iranian border forces transpired in April when Jaish al-Adl forces launched simultaneous attacks on five public locations as well as military and law enforcement bases in Chabahar and Rask.
The Baluch community, alongside the Kurds, has long been among the most persecuted minorities in Iran. The region is one of the most impoverished in the country, characterized by high unemployment rates and inadequate infrastructure. Consequently, smuggling fuel, goods, and, in some cases, drugs has become a vital means of survival for many.
