Ahmadinejad Campaign Office Attacked in SE Iran

Jundallah Takes Credit for Yesterday's Blast

Just one day after a Shi’ite mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan was attacked by a suicide bomber, gunmen attacked the campaign office of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the same city, wounding two campaign workers and a nearby child.

Yesterday’s blast in the city, the capital of the Sistan-Balochistan Province, killed at least 30 and wounded scores of others. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami today said that the bombing was an effort to drive a wedge between the Shi’ite government and the Sunni minority (which largely resides in Zahedan), adding that it was “awash with Israeli and US fingerprints.”

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the US condemns the terrorist attack and insisted that it did not sponsor the attack in any way. Later in the day, Jundallah took credit for the bombing.

Jundallah is a Sunni militant group made up of Baloch separatists, carrying out attacks principally in Iran but having operations on the Pakistani side of the border as well. The group has reportedly been encouraged and advised by the US govesrnment in its attacks against Iran, though they have avoided direct funding to avoid congressional oversight.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.