July 26 (UPI) — A group of “armed terrorists” killed six and injured 22 during a Saturday morning attack on a courthouse in Zahedan, Iran, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced.
Armed militants attacked during the early morning rush hour, but were opposed by the courthouse security team, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Three members of the security team and three civilians, including a woman and a child, were among those killed, while 22 others were injured. Three attackers also were killed.
The Jaish al-Adl “terrorist group” claimed responsibility for the attack that initially targeted the courthouse but led to attacks on nearby civilians, according to the IRNA report.
Jaish al-Adl is a “jihadist separatist group” and used small arms, grenade launchers and mortars during the two-phased attack, The Guardian reported.
The attack’s first phase was an assault on the courthouse, where the militants fought with security forces for three hours.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard during the initial attack that ensued after Jaish al-Adl militants entered while disguised as civilians, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Three gunmen in their 20s and carrying backpacks carried out the attack, the news outlet reported.
The gunmen entered the judges’ chambers and killed judicial staff, security and civilians, local police said.
The attack’s second phase was a random attack on civilians outside the courthouse.
Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni Muslim group and warned Iranian civilians to “immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety” in a Telegram post in which the group claimed responsibility for the Zahedan courthouse assault.
Zahedan is located in the Sistan and Baluchestan provinces in southeastern Iran, where armed groups in nearby Pakistan and Afghanistan occasionally engage in violence.
The Jaish al-Adl group in October killed 10 police officers in Taftan County, which is one of that province’s deadliest incidents in recent months.
