Arrest of Five Armed 'Thieves' Claiming to be ISIS Members

Abbasali Mohammadian, the head of Tehran's police intelligence, stated that five 'armed thieves' who claimed to be members of the 'ISIS' group have been arrested. The police reported that these individuals denied any connection to ISIS after their arrest. According to IRNA, Mr. Mohammadian announced on Friday, December 4, that these individuals entered a Red Crescent station located on the Tehran-Qom highway at kilometer 35 early on Thursday, and after taking hostages, proceeded to commit theft. He added that the arrested 'thieves' were armed with Kalashnikovs and handguns and held the staff of the station hostage for one hour, claiming to be 'members of the terrorist group ISIS.' This police official further noted that they had stolen 'an ambulance, a Pride car, a sum of cash along with some medical equipment' and were arrested less than 24 hours later in Shahriar. According to Mohammadian, 'these five suspects confessed to their crime after their arrest and denied any affiliation with the terrorist group ISIS.' The head of Tehran's police intelligence also mentioned that 'these individuals were known thugs wanted by the police and are aged between 22 and 30 years.' The Mehr news agency also reported that during this theft, 'eight Red Crescent personnel were held hostage by the five armed thieves for three hours.' Some of the hostages reported that these individuals 'laid us all on the ground, tied our hands and feet, and claimed to be ISIS members intending to kill us all.' This news agency identified the five individuals by their initials as 'Mahdi,' 'Reza,' 'Mohammad,' 'Khoram,' and 'Behzad.' The punishment for armed robbery in Iran can be death according to the laws of the Islamic Republic. However, given these individuals' use of the 'ISIS' cover, it is unclear what ruling the judiciary will issue for them. Over the past two months, especially following the deadly Paris attacks, reports of threats to Iran from the Islamic State group have emerged. Meanwhile, the presence of special police units in the central streets of Tehran has also increased. Police commanders have stated that the purpose of this presence is to be prepared to confront 'terrorist threats.'