At least five people were killed and 20 wounded in an attack on a court in southeast Iran on Saturday, according to Iranian state media, regime officials, and dissident groups. The reported number of casualties has ranged from five to 30.
Among the civilian casualties were a mother and baby, according to BBC Persian.
Explosions and gunfire were reportedly heard inside a courthouse in Zahedan in the Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Alireza Daliri, deputy police commander of the province, said that multiple attackers entered the courthouse while disguised as visiting civilians, according to Iranian state media. The gunmen reportedly stormed the judges’ chambers and killed some judicial and security staff, as well as civilians.
Who was behind the attack?
The Baluch Sunni Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted to Telegram. The group warned civilians “to immediately evacuate the area of clashes for their safety.”
Iranian officials claimed that three gunmen were killed, though the total number of attackers is unknown.
Semi-state official news site Tasnim released a testimony from an alleged witness who claimed that “the gunmen were three men in their twenties who had backpacks and started shooting.”
Jaish al-Adl group claimed that “at least 30 employees, judges, military and security forces” were killed and injured in the attack.
The militant group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on regime security personnel in the past, including one last year that saw 10 police officers killed in Taftan.
IRNA confirmed that Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni spoke with Mansour Bijar, the governor of Sistan and Baluchestan, about the attack and expressed his condolences.