Terrorists behind Attack on IRGC Forces Trained in Pakistan: Iranian General
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A high-ranking Iranian general said the terrorists who recently attacked the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan had been trained in Pakistan whose intelligence agency should be held accountable.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday on the sidelines of the funeral ceremony of those killed in Wednesday’s terrorist attack, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military aide to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, stressed the necessity for the Pakistani government to provide explanations to the Iranian nation and government and the IRGC.
“These criminal culprits were from a tribe in Balouchestan who had received training in suicide bombing in the neighboring country,” he said.
Pakistan and its intelligence agency, namely the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), should be held accountable, the top general said.
“How did they (the terrorists) cross the border? And why has this neighboring country become a safe haven for… these terrorist groups,” he asked.
On Wednesday night when a number of IRGC forces were traveling between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, in Sistan and Balouchestan, their bus was hit by the suicide car bomb attack.
The IRGC’s Quds Base said in a statement that an explosives-laden car rammed into the bus, which was taking the personnel back to their homes.
The attack killed 27 IRGC members and injured 13 others.
The so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said on Thursday there are clear links between the terror attack and spy agencies of some countries in the region and beyond, urging Iranian security organizations to seriously pursue the issue.