Jundallah

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Jundullah (Soldiers of God).
جندالله
Leader Abdulmalek Rigi,
Also known as:
Emir Abdul Malik Baluch
Founded 2003
Headquarters Pakistani Balochistan
Ideology Baluchi civil rights, Sunni Islam, Religious Conservatism

Jundallah (Arabic: جندالله‎) is an insurgent Sunni Islamic organization based in Balochistan that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was founded and is currently under the command of Abdolmalek Rigi. [1] It is believed to have 1,000 fighters and claims to have killed 400 Iranian soldiers.[2] and many more civilians[3]. It is a part of the Baloch insurgency in Pakistan and in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province. The group started under the name of Jundallah and later renamed itself as People's Resistance Movement of Iran. The group has been identified as a terrorist organization by Iran and Pakistan and has been behind numerous acts of terror, kidnapping and smuggling narcotics[4][5] and many believe it is linked to Al-Qaeda. [6] It is also believed to receive support from the US government. [7] The group has also been abducting foreign tourists for ransom.[8] On June 2, 2009, Abdolmalek Rigi - the head of Jundullah - admitted to receiving assistance from the notorious terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization [9]

Contents

[edit] Background

Peoples Resistant Movement of Iran (PRMI), former Jundallah of Iran, is a terrorist organization that believed to have emerged on the scene in 2003 and it is known for attacks against high profile Iranian targets, especially government and security officials. Iran accuses the United States and other foreign elements of backing PRMI, possibly from Pakistani territory with Islamabad's support, despite Pakistan's history of cooperating with Iran to suppress Baloch nationalism, whereas PPMI adamantly denies any connections to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, as well as foreign governments such as the United States and Great Britain[10].In an interview with Dan Rather, Rigi describes the Iranian military as "cowardly" and in that video [11], he cuts off a person's head in front of the camera in Al-Qaeda style.

In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, its leader Abdolmalek Rigi stated the group had given "over 2000 men" military, political and ideological training but that the number of its members "in the mountains does not exceed 200."[12]

[edit] United States alleged support

ABC news reported in April 2007, citing US and Pakistani intelligence sources, that the terrorist group "has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials" to destabilize the government in Iran.[13] According to this report by Brian Ross and Christopher Isham of ABC News, the United States government had been secretly encouraging and advising the Jundullah in its attacks against Iranian targets. This support is said to have started in 2005 and arranged so that the United States provided no direct funding to the group, which would require congressional oversight and attract media attention.[14] The report was denied by Pakistan official sources.[15] But despite their denial ABC stood by their claim.[16] Alexis Debat, one of the sources quoted by Ross and Isham in in their report alleging US support for the Jundullah, resigned from ABC News in June 2007, after ABC officials claimed that he faked several interviews while working for the company.[17]

Brian Ross, an award winning journalist and the correspondent who worked most closely with Mr. Debat, said the Jundullah story had many sources. “We’re only worried about the things Debat supplied, not about the substance of that story,” he said in regard to the Jundullah report. So far, ABC has found nothing that would undermine the stories Mr. Debat worked on, Mr. Ross said last night. But he acknowledged that as the stories of fabrications continue to roll in, the network “at some point has to question whether anything he said can be believed.”[18] This caused the netword in 2007 to send a second team of producers to Pakistan investigating the original reports.[19] ABC never retracted the story.

Fars News Agency, an Iranian state run news agency, reported that the United States government is involved in PRMI's terrorists acts.[20]

On April 2, 2007, Abdul Malik Rigi, appeared on the Persian service of Voice of America, the official broadcasting service of the United States government, which identified Rigi as "the leader of popular Iranian resistance movement". This incident resulted in public condemnation by Persian-American communities in the U.S, as well as the Iranian government.[21][22][23][24]

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed another report in July 2008 that US congressional leaders had secretly agreed to former president George W. Bush's USD 400 million funding request, which gives the US a free hand in arming and funding terrorist groups such as Jundullah militants.[25]

Iranian speaker of parliament Ali Larijani, three days after the 2009 terror attack against Zahidan mosque revealed, Iran has intelligence reports regarding the United States links with certain terrorist groups operating against Iran and accused United States, of commanding them. He implicated United States of trying to start a civil war between shia and sunni segments of Iranian society. Regarding the investigation of the terrorist act he added that Iran would want Pakistan to cooperate fully and not become a mere part of the designs against Iran.[26]

[edit] Alleged support from Sweden

Dan Rather, on the US cable channel HDnet's television news magazine Dan Rather Reports, indicated that support comes from Balochis in Sweden where Radio Baloch FM is broadcast from Stockholm.[27][28]

[edit] Alleged British support

Iranian authorities also blame Britain for supporing Jundallah.[29][citation needed]

[edit] Alleged support from Pakistan

Hossein Ali Shahriari, Zahedan's representative in parliament, rhetorically asked, "Why does our diplomatic apparatus not seriously confront the Pakistani government for harboring bandits and regime's enemies? Why do security, military and police officials not take more serious action?"[30]. Following publication of an interview in ‘Ayyaran newspaper, which has since been closed down on the order of Hojjatoleslam Nekunam[31], on 17 March 2007 he stated that there were 700 people then awaiting execution in Sistan-Baluchistan province, whose sentences had been confirmed by the Supreme Court[32][33][34][35][36] The group mainly operates out of Pakistan and is reported to have training camps there as well as being involved in drug and weapon smuggling from Pakistan into Iran. Hostages once abducted by Jandallah in Iran are taken across the border to Pakistan.[37][38]

[edit] Views and goals

The group's leader is known to be Abdolmalek Rigi (also spelled Abd Al-Malek Rigi and also known as Emir Abdul Malek Baloch). In a May telephone interview with Rooz, (Iranian online newspaper), Rigi defended PRMI's use of violence as a just means to defend Baloch and Sunni Muslim interests in Iran and to draw attention to the difficult economic situation and ethnic discrimination of the Baloch people [39][40][41][42], whom he describes as Iran's poorest. Significantly, Rigi declared himself an Iranian and Iran as his home. He also denied harboring separatist aspirations. According to Rigi, PRMI's goal is to improve the life of Iranian Baloch and Sunnis and not to separate from Iran or even demand autonomy.

In an October 17, 2008 interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV, Abdolmalek stated, "the only thing we ask of the Iranian government is to be citizens. We want to have the same rights as the Iranian Shiite people. That's it." He described his group as an Islamic awakening movement but denied any ties with Al Qaeda or the Taliban. He also told the interviewer that despite the fact that "many of us have been martyred ... we are prepared to reach an understanding" with the Iranian government. [12]

[edit] Arrest of Waheed brothers

On July 3, 2004, Karachi police arrested two doctor brothers (Dr. Akmal Waheed, a cardiologist, and Dr. Arshad Waheed, an orthopaedic surgeon), who were missing, and presumed kidnapped since June 17. The police claimed to have recovered a car, the men's passports and visa cards from their possession. The doctors were said to have close links to Pakistani Jundullah and Al-Qaeda, as they were providing shelter and financial and medical support to the terrorists, police claimed.[43]

They were charged with providing medical assistance and protection to the activists. They went underground after arrest of Shahzad Bajwa, the frontman and Ata-ur-Rehman, the chief of Jundullah, the spokesman further claimed. During investigations and later before the court, Ata-ur-Rehman, the chief of Jundullah, had confessed that Dr Akmal Waheed and Dr Arshad Waheed had close links to him and were extending help by all means, the police spokesman added.[43]

Dr. Arshad Waheed was killed allegedly in a US missile attack in occurred on March 16, 2009 in Wana(wazeeristan).[44]

[edit] Death penalty for Jundullah activists

In February 2006 the Karachi anti-terrorist court handed down the death penalty and life imprisonment for eleven activists of Jundullah group for attacking the convoy of former Corps Commander Karachi, and the previous Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Ahsan Saleem Hyat in Karachi on June 10, 2004.[45] The activists were Ata-ur-Rehman, Shahzad Bajwa, Aziz, Danish Imam, Khurram Saifullah Shoaib Siddiqui, Rao Khalid, Shahzad Mukhtar, Adnan, Yaqoob Saeed, and Najeebullah belonging to a terrorist group named Jundullah. They were convicted of attacking the convoy of General Hayat near Clifton Bridge. Some 10 people, including six soldiers and three police personnel, were killed and 21 injured in the attack.[45]

The judge also handed down 14-year and 10-year prison terms for planting a bomb and damaging public property, respectively. The court also ordered the convicts to pay Rs 100,000 each to the heirs of the deceased, along with Rs 50,000 each as a fine for an attempt to murder charge and another Rs 50,000 fine each for damage to public property. In case of default, they will have to serve an additional six month jail sentence.[45]

Once the judge announced the judgment, all the accused present in the court got to their feet and started to chant "Allah-o-Akbar" and flash victory signs. Family members and relatives of the accused were also present in the courtyard of the court.[45]

Five accused (Bilal, Qasim, Hammad, Shahab and Tayyeb) have already been declared absconding by the court.[45]

Defense councils said that they would challenge the judgment in Sindh High Court within the stipulated period of seven days.[45]

On 21 February 2006 an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced 11 members of Jundullah to death for the attack on General Hayat.

[edit] Notable attacks

[edit] 2007 Zahedan bombing

Main article: 2007 Zahedan bombing

On February 14, 2007, a car bomb and gunfire directed at a bus killed 18 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Guards commander Qasem Rezaei said, "This blind terrorist operation led to the martyrdom of 18 citizens of Zahedan" and attributed the attack to "insurgents and elements of insecurity."[46] Jundallah claimed responsibility for the attack on 15 February [47].

The Iranian government arrested many people in response to the bombing, including Nasrollah Shanbezehi, who was soon executed by the Revolutionary Guards [48]. It also arrested five suspects, two of whom were carrying camcorders and grenades when they were arrested, while the police killed the main "agent" of the attack.[30]. Among the arrestees was Said Qanbarzehi, a Balochi, who was hanged in Zahedan prison on 27 May 2007. He had been sentenced to death at the age of 17 along with six other Balochi men—Javad Naroui, Masoud Nosratzehi, Houshang Shahnavazi, Yahya Sohrabzehi, Ali Reza Brahoui and Abdalbek Kahrazehi (also known as Abdalmalek) -- in March 2007[49], despite the absolute international prohibition on the execution of child offenders[50]. Balochi sources suggest that the seven may have been arrested because of their family ties to those suspected of involvement in the February bus bombing[51]. According Sistan-Baluchistan Provincial Television, 15-17 March 2007, said that those who "confessed" had been tortured.[52]

[edit] Mass adbuction

Jundallah militants kidnapped 21 Iranian truck drivers near Chabar on August 19, 2007 and brought them to Pakistan. Pakistani forces later freed all of them.[53]

[edit] Police abduction

On June 13, 2008, 16 police in southeastern Iran were abducted and brought into Pakistan.[54] In December 2008, Jundallah announced that it had killed all the hostages.[55]

[edit] Saravan bombing

In a rare suicide bombing in Iran, a car bomb was driven into a security building in Saravan, Iran, on December 29, 2008. The explosion killed four Iranians.[56][57]

[edit] Saravan ambush

On January 25, 2009, 12 Iranian policemen were ambushed and killed by Jundallah near Saravan.[58]

[edit] Zahedan mosque blast

Main article: 2009 Zahedan explosion

A bomb blast on May 28, 2009 rocked a mosque in the city of southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan as mourners participated in a ceremony marking the death of the daughter of the prophet of Islam, which killed 25 people and injured 125 others, in less than 3 weeks before the Iranian 2009 presidential elections. The Iranian government promptly accused the United Sates of having financed and orchestrated the attack in order to destabilize the nation in the lead up to its presidential election. Two days after the attack, three men were publicly hanged for smuggling the explosives used in attack into Iran from Pakistan. The trio were already in prison at the time of attack and had been tried for previous attacks by Jundallah including 2007 attack on Iran's Revolutionary Guard.[59] Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli said in a statement posted on the internet Friday that "those who committed the Thursday bombing are neither Shia nor Sunni. They are Americans and Israelis." [60] Abdel Raouf Rigi, the spokesman for Jundallah claimed responsibility on a Saudi Arabian state owned TV channel, Al-Arabiya.[61]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Preparing the Battlefield
  2. ^ Massoud, Ansari (January 16, 2006). "Sunni Muslim group vows to behead Iranians". Washington Times. http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060116-124019-6619r.htm. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. 
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ 2nd blast in 3 days hits Iranian city, 16 February 2007Al-Qaeda's New Face, August 2004
  6. ^ The legacy of Nek Mohammed By Syed Saleem Shahzad
  7. ^ Seymour Hersh: US Training Jundullah and MEK for Bombing Preparation
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ Jundullah admits MKO connection
  10. ^ http://www.radiobalochi.org
  11. ^ Rigi cuts off the person's head(at 8 min,17 sec of the video)
  12. ^ a b Leader of the Jundallah Movemement, Abd Al-Malek Al-Rigi: We Train Fighters in the Mountains and Send Them into Iran. October 17, 2008
  13. ^ "Jundullah claim responsibility for Iran blast". PressTV. 30 May 2009. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96453&sectionid=351020101. Retrieved on 2009-05-30. 
  14. ^ The Secret War Against Iran
  15. ^ Justin Rood and Gretchen Peters, Pakistan Denounces ABC News Report on Backing Iran Radicals, ABC News, April 5, 2007
  16. ^ [4]
  17. ^ Howard Kurtz, Consultant Probed in Bogus Interview, The Washington Post, September 13, 2007 (English)
  18. ^ Former ABC Consultant Says He Faked Nothing
  19. ^ [5]
  20. ^ Fars News Agency :: 65 Suspects Arrested on Charges of Blast in Southeast Iran
  21. ^ http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=018030120070404130601
  22. ^ Press TV - VoA interviews Iranian terrorist culprit in a sign of backing
  23. ^ [6] (in Persian)
  24. ^ Iranian speaker says U.S. supports "terrorists" - swissinfo
  25. ^ "Jundullah claim responsibility for Iran blast". PressTV. 30 May 2009. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=96453&sectionid=351020101. Retrieved on 2009-05-30. 
  26. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/06/090601_he_zahedan_larijnai.shtml
  27. ^ HDNet Original Programming - Transcripts
  28. ^ HDNet Original Programming - Dan Rather Reports
  29. ^ [7]
  30. ^ a b 11 Guards killed in Iran bomb attack Gulf Times
  31. ^ dead link
  32. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: Human Rights Abuses Against The Baluchi Minority
  33. ^ Letter to Ms Louise Arbour of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from Baluchi organizations
  34. ^ List of Young Baloch Men hanged/killed by Iranian Regime in 2004-2007
  35. ^ Baluchistan People's Front(Persian)
  36. ^ Letter to Amnesty International from Baluchi organizations
  37. ^ [8]
  38. ^ [9]
  39. ^ Iran: Amnesty International appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions, 5 September 2007
  40. ^ Iran: Human Rights Abuses Against The Baluchi Minority, 17 September 2007
  41. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: Ethnic minorities facing new wave of human rights violations, 26 February 2007
  42. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: Further information on fear of imminent execution/ torture, 5 June 2007
  43. ^ a b "Police declare arrest of two missing doctors". 2004-07-03. http://www.karachipage.com/news/Jul_04/070304.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  44. ^ http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=41273
  45. ^ a b c d e f "Death penalty awarded to 11 activists of Jundullah group in Corps commander attack case". 2006-02-22. http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?134989. Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  46. ^ Report: Bomb kills 18 Revolutionary Guardsmen in Iran The Washington Post
  47. ^ Al-Qaeda gains Palestine foothold Scotsman
  48. ^ news about balochistan (Persian)
  49. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: Further information on fear of imminent execution/torture 5 June 2007
  50. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: The last executioner of children, 27 June 2007
  51. ^ Radio Baluchi (Persian)
  52. ^ Amnesty International. Iran: Further information on fear of imminent execution/ torture, 5 June 2007
  53. ^ http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/21/top9.htm
  54. ^ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=59884&sectionid=351020101
  55. ^ http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=211720
  56. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/middleeast/30iran.html
  57. ^ http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=185884
  58. ^ http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84049&sectionid=351020202
  59. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8074978.stm
  60. ^ http://news.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/abc/world/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CBC-WORLD-V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=iran-hangings
  61. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8074978.stm

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jundallah"
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