Ansar Al-Forqan Terrorist Group Likely Responsible for Chabahar Attack

Foreign media outlets said that Ansar al-Forqan has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack but no official has yet confirmed the report.

"A bomb blast was heard some minutes ago near a police station on a street in Chabahar city and security forces and aid groups were immediately deployed in the region," Deputy Governor-General of Sistan and Balouchestan province for Security and Law Enforcement Affairs Mohammad Hadi Mara'ashi told FNA on Thursday.

He added that the bomb which was planted inside a car killed 2 people and wounded 3 others.

Local sources also said that at least 2 law enforcement police have been killed in the terrorist attack. The suicide bomber meant to open his path into the Law Enforcement command center, but was forced to stop where he blew up himself and the car.

Meantime, Caretaker of Chabahar city's Governor-General Office Bameri confirmed the death and injury of a number of people in the bomb blast, stressing that conditions are under control now.

He added that the bomb was planted inside a pickup truck near the Law Enforcement Police's station.

"A number of women, children and local business owners are among the wounded people who were transferred to Imam Ali (AS) hospital," Bameri said, but did not specify the numbers.

But the latest reports by Chabahar medical officials said that 27 wounded people have so far been admitted to the city's hospitals, among them a pregnant woman and a 16-year-old adolescent.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour visited the blast site on Thursday.

Also, the chief commander of Chabahar's Law Enforcement Police dismissed media claims that he was killed in the terrorist attack.

In June 2017, the IRGC Ground Force killed the ringleader of Ansar al-Forqan terrorist group, Jalil Qanbar Zehi, in clashes in the heights of Qasr-e Qand region, Southeastern Iran.

IRGC's public relations office announced in a statement at the time that the IRGC Ground Force destroyed a Takfiri terrorist team in Qasr-e Qand in the Southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan.

Several terrorists were killed and wounded in clashes with the IRGC forces in Qasr-e Qand region, including the ringleader of Ansar al-Forqan, it added.

The statement said that after being tipped off about the presence of a Takfiri terrorist group in Qasr-e Qand region, several units of IRGC ground troops were dispatched to the scene and attacked the terrorists.

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