Arrest of 28 suspects linked to Islamic State in Iran

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence announced on Sunday the arrest of 28 individuals suspected of having ties to the jihadist Islamic State organization and planning attacks on the anniversary of last year's nationwide protest movement.

Protests erupted following the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, on September 16, 2022, just days after her arrest by the police, who deemed that she had violated the country's strict dress code.

The ministry stated on its website, "In recent days, during a series of simultaneous operations carried out in Tehran and the provinces of Alborz and West Azerbaijan, several terrorist bases were targeted (…)," adding that 28 individuals had been arrested.

The detainees "belong" to the Islamic State organization, and some of them "accompanied extremists in Syria or were active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Kurdistan region of Iraq," according to the source.

The ministry also reported that two security personnel were injured during the arrest operations, and explosive devices, firearms, explosive vests, and communication devices were confiscated.

According to the source, the 28 suspects had planned to "carry out 30 simultaneous terrorist bombings in densely populated areas in Tehran to undermine security, incite riots, and stage demonstrations on the occasion of the anniversary of the riots" in 2022.

During the protests that took place between October and November 2022, hundreds of Iranians, including security personnel, were killed, and thousands were arrested.

On Thursday, the Iranian judiciary sentenced a Tajik man, claiming to be a member of the Islamic State organization, to death after he was convicted of opening fire last month at a Shiite shrine in the southern part of the country.


AFP