March 15, 2019
A band of Baluchi rebels has taken responsibility for bombing a Pasdar bus in Sistan va Baluchestan province, killing 27 troops and injuring another 13, one of the bloodiest attacks yet carried out by Jaish ul-Adl.
The ages of the dead ranged from 21 to 52, the Pasdaran said.
The group is the primary Baluchi rebel organization and the most violent of any ethnic rebel group around the country.
The bus that was attacked was bringing border guards back to their base in Khash from duty on the border when a car loaded with explosives was driven into the bus and detonated by a suicide bomber February 13.
Iranian officials quickly sounded off, blaming just about everyone—the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and, even on occasion, Jaish ul-Adl, which means Army of Justice.
After several days, the angry words were mostly focused on Pakistan, as officials complained that Pakistan refused to lift a finger to stop Jaish ul-Adl from enjoying sanctuary in Pakistan.
Baluchi rebels are known to move back and forth across the border, with Iranian Baluchis seeking sanctuary in Pakistan and Pakistani Baluchis seeking sanctuary in Iran.
In this particular case, it seemed exceedingly unlikely that Jaish ul-Adl would have built an explosives-laden vehicle in Pakistan and tried to drive it passed Iranian border guards. More likely, the vehicle was loaded inside Iran. Officials have not said what license the vehicle had. However, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpur, a senior Pasdar officer, said the police had identified the owner of the vehicle and that quickly led them to the group behind the bombing. This suggests the car was registered in Iran.
Iran claims to have arrested nine people in Iran for organizing the bombing. The Tasnim news agency quoted Pakpur as saying the suicide bomber was a Pakistani citizen, while two members of the team were Pakistani and three others were Iranians. The other three were not identified. Baluchi families live on both sides of the border and family ties traditionally have more meaning than technical nationality.
Weeks after the bombing Iranian officials were still leveling the blame on Pakistan. Almost four weeks after the attack, President Rohani called Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and demanded that Pakistan take “decisive” action to curtail Jaish al-Adl, the Iranian state news agency reported.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad-Ali Jafari, the commander of the Pasdaran, went much further and didn’t just accuse Pakistan of negligence. “Pakistan’s government, which has housed these anti-revolutionaries and threats to Islam, knows where they are and they are supported by Pakistan’s security forces. If [Pakistan] does not punish them, we will retaliate … and whatever Pakistan sees will be the consequences of its support for them.”
That was very strong language. But Iran has threatened outright invasion of Pakistan after previous Jaish al-Adl attacks, and has never followed through.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly denied allowing Jaish al-Adl to operate inside Pakistan. But Pakistani Baluchistan is badly policed and often viewed as the “Wild West.”
A total of 12 million people live in Pakistani Baluchestan and 3 million live in Iranian Sistan va Baluchestan province. Not all those in either province are Baluchis.
Maj. Gen. Qasem Soley-mani, commander of the Pasdar Qods Force, last month charged that Saudi Arabia was funneling money to the Baluchi rebels through Pakistan to disrupt life in Iran. He said Pakistan must not allow that to continue.
The first major Baluchi organization fighting Iran was formed in the 1990s as Jundollah (Soldiers of God) with leadership from the Rigi clan. In 2010, Iran captured the main leader and executed him. Soon the named Jundollah disappeared, and Jaish al-Adl started being used with Rigis in the leadership.
The United States declared Jundollah to be a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2010, just as it was about to fade from existence. The list has not been updated to include Jaish al-Adl.
The UN Security Council, with the support of the United States, condemned the bus attack. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the Iranian charge of US support for Jaish al-Adl “outrageous” because the group is just a murderous band.
In recent years, the group has focused mainly on Iranian border guards. But in previous years, it and Jundollah bombed mosques and, in one instance, set up a roadblock on a highway and killed everyone who carried an identification card showing they were Shiite.