Interior Minister: 40 Members of a 'Terrorist Group' Arrested in Sistan and Baluchestan

Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli, the Interior Minister, announced on Thursday the arrest of 40 members of a 'terrorist group' in the city of Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan, who, according to him, intended to carry out 'explosions and terrorist operations.' According to Iranian news agencies, Mr. Rahmani Fazli, speaking at a seasonal meeting of the House of Parties, added: 'In investigations two nights ago in the east of the country, we encountered a 40-meter tunnel with a depth of 20 meters that was intended for underground explosions and operations.' The police news agency of Sistan and Baluchestan reported that the 'identification and destruction' of this 'terrorist team' was the result of a 'joint operation' by law enforcement officials in Khash and the Ministry of Intelligence. According to the police statement, the arrested individuals intended to dig a tunnel from a house near 'two important military and security centers' to infiltrate under the buildings of these two centers and blow them up. The police news agency specified that from the detainees, 'a remote-controlled explosive device, a quantity of weapons and ammunition, advanced drilling equipment, and a map outlining the drilling route to these locations' were seized. Contrary to the Interior Minister's announcement, the police reported that the number of detainees was 10. So far, the identity of the detainees or their organizational affiliation with any specific group or country has not been announced, but previously, Mohammad Akbar Chakerzahi, the governor of Khash, described the detainees as 'saboteurs and foreign-affiliated.' While the Interior Minister and other official authorities in Sistan and Baluchestan announced news regarding the 'identification and destruction' of this 'terrorist team,' on Wednesday, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi, the police chief of Sistan and Baluchestan, had described the news of the 'arrest of a sabotage team linked to terrorist groups' as a 'published rumor' and denied it. Mr. Rahimi characterized the aim of spreading and disseminating these 'baseless rumors' as 'promoting a sense of insecurity among the people' and even threatened that those who spread such rumors and disrupt public order would be dealt with severely according to the law. Khash County is located 185 kilometers south of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran. Last Tuesday, the public relations office of the Tharallah Corps in Kerman reported the discovery of a shipment of explosives and explosive equipment, and the security director of Kerman province stated that this equipment was stored in a warehouse in the heights of Sistan and Baluchestan. Previously, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reported the arrest of '5 to 6 individuals' whom he said were affiliated with 'terrorist groups' in various cities of Iran, who intended to carry out actions during the 'Nights of Qadr and Quds Day.' According to the Minister of Intelligence, the detainees were mainly affiliated with ISIS.