Jaish ul-Adl
Militant separatist organization in Iran / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaish ul-Adl, or Jaish al-Adl[19] (Arabic: جيش العدل, lit. 'Army of Justice'; Balochi: جئیش الئدل), is a Baloch Sunni Salafi Jihadist separatist organization that operates mainly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran,[20] where there is a substantial Baloch population and a porous border with Pakistan.[5][6][21]
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][15] Cross-border raids from Pakistan against Iranian border troops[16] |
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[17] Japan[18] New Zealand United States[5] |
Flag | |
The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks against military personnel in Iran.[17] The group has asserted that it is a separatist group fighting for independence of Sistan and Baluchistan Province and greater rights for Baluch people.[22][23][7] The group also maintain ties with Ansar Al-Furqan, which is another Iranian Baloch armed group operating in Iran.[24] Salahuddin Farooqui is the current head of Jaish ul-Adl. 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.[25][21] Jaish ul-Adl is a designated terrorist organization by Iran,[17] Japan,[18] New Zealand[26] 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.[16]