Two People Shot Dead in Abadan

Informed sources told the state news agency IRNA that two young motorcyclists were shot dead by armed individuals on the island of "Mino" early Monday morning. According to the report, the two were riding a motorcycle on the coastal road of Arvand Saghir on the island of Mino at around 2:30 AM when they were sprayed with bullets by the occupants of a car. IRNA reports that one of the individuals died on the spot, while the other succumbed to his injuries after being transferred to Taleghani Hospital in Abadan. Security and police officials, as well as the Abadan governorate, have not commented on the incident so far. The island of Mino is located southwest of Abadan Airport and has an island-like status due to its position in the middle of the Arvand River. Meanwhile, the Twitter account of "Harakat al-Nidal al-Arabi li-Tahrir al-Ahwaz" or "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" claims that the two individuals were members of the IRGC and were targeted by the forces of "al-Muqawama al-Wataniyah al-Ahwaziyah." The name of "Harakat al-Nidal al-Arabi li-Tahrir al-Ahwaz" has resurfaced in the media following an armed attack on a military parade in Ahvaz on the anniversary of the start of the war, which resulted in at least 24 deaths. Initially, following this attack, Yaqoub Har al-Tustari, the spokesperson for the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" in Denmark, identified the "National Resistance of Ahwaz" as responsible for the operations in the city of Ahvaz. However, later, the Islamic State group or ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack by releasing a video on its "Amaq" site, asserting that the video contained images and statements from three of the four attackers involved in the military parade assault. Despite ISIS taking responsibility for the attack in Ahvaz, it is noteworthy that none of the individuals in the video pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, which is typically seen in such attacks. Nevertheless, following this attack, Iran summoned senior diplomats from Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, accusing these countries of harboring opposition forces involved in the attack. In the military parade attack in Ahvaz, in addition to several military personnel, a four-year-old child named Mohammad Taha Aghdami was also killed. This attack drew widespread international condemnation. In addition to the European Union, the United States, and several regional countries, figures such as Prince Reza Pahlavi condemned the attack as "terrorist." Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, also condemned the attack in Ahvaz, stating that the United States condemns any act of terrorism and the death of innocent people. Six days after the Ahvaz attack, Danish security forces conducted a large-scale chase operation in Copenhagen, closing two major bridges connecting Zealand Island in eastern Denmark to Sweden and Germany. The police announced in a statement that they were searching for the occupants of a vehicle that had committed a criminal act. The police later provided no further information on this matter. Meanwhile, more than a month after this incident, Denmark announced on November 8 that it had recalled its ambassador from Tehran following the foiling of an Iranian security service plot to attack the leader of the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" in that country. Finn Burch Andersen, the head of Denmark's intelligence service, also stated that the police had arrested a Norwegian-Iranian individual on suspicion of collaborating with Iranian security services and attempting this attack. He also mentioned that at the same time, a suspicious black "Volvo" car with Swedish plates near the home of Habib Jabr, the leader of the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" in Denmark, ignored a police stop and attempted to flee, which was the reason for closing the roads. Iran, however, denies any involvement in this assassination plot, calling it a conspiracy by Israeli intelligence. Meanwhile, on November 16, Denmark announced that it had arrested three members of the separatist group "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" for praising the armed attack on Iran's military parade in Ahvaz. The three were released a day later. The "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" was formed in 1999, and the Islamic Republic considers it a terrorist group. According to BBC Persian, the "Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz" split into two branches in Denmark and the Netherlands in 2015. Ahmad Muli Nisi, the leader of this group, was assassinated in front of his home in the Netherlands in 2017.