Violence in Iran Between Regime and Kurd, Baluch Militants
One of the most underreported stories about Iran is the ongoing violence. Half of the country consists of minorities who are disenchanted and gunfights with the Baluch, Kurds and Arabs are common. On October 7, for example, four police officers and one civilian were killed in a shooting in Kordestan Province by two gunmen. Those numbers are from the regime so they may be accurate, but it is also possible that the regime is lying and more were killed.
And over the weekend, Planet-Iran.com reports that the Jundullah militant Baluch group claimed it kidnapped a nuclear scientist and would force him to reveal the regime’s secrets unless 200 prisoners are released. The regime claims the victim isn’t a scientist but was a worker fired from the Isfahan site four years ago. After losing his job, the regime says, he got into the smuggling business and ran afoul of Jundullah.
The nature of Jundullah is hard to discern. They’ve carried out suicide bombings and beheaded prisoners and have an Islamic identity, but these attacks have been on regime personnel. There have been reports of Jundullah having ties to Al-Qaeda. Some experts say there are two groups under the name of Jundullah, with one truly being a terrorist group and another being a militant group fighting for the rights of the Baluch.
