Jaish ul-Adl | |
---|---|
Leaders | Salahuddin Farooqui †[1] Amir Naroui †[2] Hashem Nokri †[3] |
Foundation | 2012[1] |
Motives | Independence of Sistan and Baluchestan province[4] |
Active regions | Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran[5][6] |
Ideology | |
Major actions | Attacks (including suicide attacks) targeting Iranian politicians, state officials, government centres, and military officers[5][14] Cross-border raids from Pakistan against Iranian border troops[15] |
Notable attacks | 2019 Khash–Zahedan suicide bombing |
Status | Active |
Size | 500[1] |
Battles and wars | Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency Insurgency in Balochistan |
Designated as a terrorist group by | Iran[16] China[17] Japan[18] New Zealand Pakistan[17] Russia[17] United States[5] |
Flag | |
Jaish ul-Adl (also spelled Jaysh al-Adl;[19] Arabic: جيش العدل, lit. 'Army of Justice'; Balochi: جئیش الئدل) is a Baloch Sunni militant[20][21] separatist organization that operates mainly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran,[22] where there is a substantial Baloch population and a porous border with Pakistan.[5][6][23]
The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks against military personnel in Iran.[16] The group has asserted that it is a separatist group fighting for independence of Sistan and Baluchistan Province and greater rights for Baluch people.[24][25][7] The group also maintain ties with Ansar Al-Furqan, which is another Iranian Baloch armed group operating in Iran.[26] Salahuddin Farooqui was the head of Jaish ul-Adl until his death in 2024. His brother, Amir Naroui, was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.[2]
The group was founded in 2012 by members of Jundallah, a Sunni militant group that had been weakened following Iran's capture and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, in 2010. Its first major attack took place in October 2013.[27][23] Jaish ul-Adl is a designated terrorist organization by Iran,[16] China,[17] Pakistan,[17] Japan,[18] New Zealand[28] and the United States.[5]
Jaish al-Adl has cooperated with Kurdish separatist groups in Iran, and has also strongly denounced Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war. Iranian state media has alleged that Saudi Arabia and the United States are key backers of the group.[15][29]
second-in-command
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The group, Jaysh al-Adl operates mainly in southeastern Iran, where there is a substantial concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan.......In its official statement the Department says, "Jundallah, which was designated as an FTO and SDGT in 2010, began using the new name Jaysh al-Adl and associated aliases in 2012. Since its inception, the group has engaged in numerous attacks that have killed scores of Iranian civilians and government officials, including a February 2019 suicide bombing and the October 2018 kidnapping of Iranian security personnel."
For a decade, Jundallah waged a deadly insurgency on civilians and officials in the restive southeast. Jundallah had been weakened since Iran executed its leader Abdolmalek Rigi in 2010 after capturing him in a dramatic operation.