Iran's Baloch insurgency and the IS

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-201014.html



Iran's Baloch insurgency and the IS
By Daniele Grassi
Oct 20, '14

On October 9, a car bomber struck a fortified base near the south-eastern Iranian city of Saravan (Sistan-e-Balochistan province), killing a senior officer and injuring three others. The previous day, another three police officers had lost their lives in an ambush after responding to a false emergency call. Both attacks were claimed by Jaish al-Adl (JAA, Army of Justice), a Sunni terrorist group, which operates in the border area between Iran and Pakistan.

Sistan-e-Balochistan is not new to such episodes of violence. Over the past decade, more than 3,000 Iranian border guards have been killed in gun battles with criminal gangs and terrorist groups operating in this area, but in recent years, the fighting has grown more sectarian, fueling serious concern among the authorities in Tehran.

In 1928, the Independent State of Western Balochistan was annexed to Iran. The country was at that time ruled by Shah Reza Pahlavi, who toppled the Qajar dynasty in a military coup, immediately after the "Persian Constitutional Revolution" that took place between 1905 and 1907.

According to Baloch activists, the Pahlavi dynasty created a centralized system, dominated by the Persians, forcing the Baloch community and other minorities to fight to protect their rights. In 1979 Iran became an Islamic republic and the shah was forced into exile.

[bemildred]

1. Yes. The Balochis are not happy as part of Pakistan either.

Not unlike the Kurds, another submerged nation yearning to breath free.