Two Iran-linked Militants Arrested in Karachi

The Counter-Terrorism Department of Sindh Police in Pakistan reports that two armed men affiliated with the Zainabiyoun militant group have been arrested in Karachi. Asif Ijaz Sheikh, head of this police branch, announced this on Thursday, May 17, during a press conference in Karachi. He added that "both suspects were trained in Iran and targeted religious scholars and members of an opposing religious group in Karachi at the behest of Iranian intelligence agencies." Asif Ijaz Sheikh named the two suspects as "Waqaar Abbas" and "Hussein Akbar," stating that they, hailing from the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, have killed 17 religious scholars in Karachi and injured 11 others from September of last year until February 21 of this year. Raja Omar Khattab, head of the CTD Karachi, also mentioned in the same press conference that this group is led in Karachi by "Syed Hussein Mousavi," known as "Muslim," and operates like a civilian intelligence organization. According to police officials, the names of 23 members of the Iran-backed Zainabiyoun militant group have been identified in Karachi, and efforts to arrest them have begun. The Zainabiyoun Brigade, composed of Pakistani Shia, along with the Fatemiyoun Brigade, made up of Afghan Shia, are groups established by the Islamic Republic of Iran for use in regional conflicts, particularly in Syria. Both groups have been under U.S. sanctions since 2019 for "terrorism." Previously, Alireza Arafi, a member of the Guardian Council who until 2018 directly headed the "Al-Mustafa International University," one of the few institutions under the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated during the Syrian war: "Many of the fighters of the Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun are our graduates."