Discovery of Jamshid Danaiifar's Body and Transfer to Iran

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence announced that the body of Jamshid Danaiifar, an Iranian border guard who was kidnapped in 2013 by the Jaish al-Adl group, was transferred to 'inside Iran' on the first day of Farvardin. According to the Iranian government's website, the Ministry of Intelligence stated on the second of Farvardin that 'a number of those involved' in his murder have been arrested. The statement from the Ministry of Intelligence mentioned that these arrests and the discovery of the 'noble martyr' Jamshid Danaiifar's body were made possible through 'round-the-clock and continuous intelligence and operational efforts' of Iranian agents, but did not provide further details on this 'discovery and identification.' Jamshid Danaiifar was a sergeant who, along with four other border guards, was kidnapped on February 6, 2014, by the Jaish al-Adl group. The other four border guards were released two months later and returned to Iran, but on March 23, 2014, Jaish al-Adl announced that Danaiifar had been executed in retaliation for the death of a Sunni prisoner. Despite Jaish al-Adl's statement regarding Danaiifar's death and the confirmation of this news by Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, Iranian Interior Ministry officials repeatedly stated last year that they would neither confirm nor deny this news. However, some news websites claimed that Danaiifar had 'defected' to the United States. Meanwhile, Hossein Naqavi, spokesman for the National Security Commission of the Parliament, stated on April 16, 2014, that 'we have indications that he collaborated with Jaish al-Adl, which may be confirmed or denied.' Hossein Ali Amiri, Deputy Minister of Interior, rejected these statements, saying, 'The oversight system of the armed forces is so strong that no one is allowed to enter it. Certainly, individuals who enter this organization pass through a series of oversight filters.' The Sistan and Baluchestan province has also witnessed multiple attacks by armed groups against Iranian military and police forces in 2014. In the latest incident, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, head of the Basij Organization in Iran, reported that three police officers lost their lives on March 19, 2015, due to bombs made by 'terrorists.' On the afternoon of Thursday, January 1, 2015, a teacher and a member of the Basij forces in the 'Nasirabad village,' near the city of Rask in Sistan and Baluchestan province, were killed by two motorcyclists. Following these murders, the police commander of Sistan and Baluchestan announced on Tuesday, January 6, the arrest of members of a group he described as 'terrorist' in connection with this case. In this context, Ahmadinejad: Danaiifar is likely dead. Ahmadinejad criticized the 'lack of attention' from some border commanders. Iran and the U.S. did not confirm the news of Danaiifar's defection. The commander of the border guards stated: Sergeant Danaiifar is alive at the Pakistan border.