An armed unit from the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl attacked a courthouse in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province on Saturday, killing at least five people and wounding 13, Iranian media said.
A senior police official told state news agency IRNA that three gunmen were shot dead after clashes with security forces. The official said a mother and her child were among those killed when the attackers lobbed a hand grenade inside the Zahedan courthouse.
In a statement on its Telegram channel, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility and urged civilians to “immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety.”
The Baluch rights group HAALVSH, citing eyewitnesses, reported that several judiciary employees and security personnel were among the dead and injured after the assailants burst into judges’ chambers.
Sistan-Baluchestan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to Iran’s Sunni Baluch minority, who have long complained of economic neglect and political exclusion. The province regularly sees firefights between Iranian forces and armed militants or separatists seeking greater autonomy. Tehran accuses such groups of foreign ties and involvement in smuggling and insurgency.