A commander of one of the Basij’s female units was killed Wednesday in an attack in Mehrestan, a border county in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, Iranian state media reported. The woman was identified as Afsaneh Aqila.
Aqila, commander of the Basij unit of the Afzal sisters in Mehrestan, was allegedly murdered in front of her home, in front of her children. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency claimed the gunmen had ties to Israel and the United States, but did not identify the group responsible or provide evidence to support the claim.
In another incident in the same province, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that security guard Mohsen Shahriyari was killed while confronting a “terrorist group.”
Sardar Mohammadreza Eshaqi, the province’s police commander, issued a statement following the killings, describing Aqila as “a woman of faith, courage and sacrifice.”
“I condemn this terrorist act and extend my condolences and congratulations for the martyrdom of these individuals to their comrades, the honorable people of Mehrestan and the Basij community of Sistan-Baluchistan province,” Eshaqi said.
Iranian People’s Fighters Front claims six attacks
Attacks targeting members of the IRGC and other security forces in the province appear to have increased in recent weeks. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported earlier this week that at least 94 people were killed and 33 injured in 63 armed incidents in southeastern Iran between March 31 and October 10.
The People’s Fighters Front claimed responsibility for only six of the incidents documented by HRANA. Responsibility for the other incidents remains unknown.
Security expert Roger Macmillan told The Jerusalem Post that attacks against the regime have increased since the Sunni group Jaysh al-Adl merged with the PFF. He said there had been significant anger towards the IRGC over the “systematic arrest and torture of its members, many of whom do not even speak Farsi, and were forced to sign false documents, which saw them convicted of alleged terrorist attacks and then executed.”
In one of the most notable incidents last week, Tasnim reported that Lt. Col. Nosrat Eftekhari, deputy for cultural and social affairs of the provincial law enforcement command, was killed in what the agency described as a “terrorist attack.”
Earlier this week, Haalvsh, an independent human rights organization and news media outlet that documents human rights violations and security incidents in Sistan and Baluchistan, also reported that more than 20 members of the Fatemiyoun terrorist group were killed or injured during clashes that lasted hours on Tuesday. The Iran-backed Shiite group is made up primarily of Afghan Hazara refugees and migrants and is financed and trained by the IRGC.
The Iranian regime seeks to project strength and public support for the Basij
These attacks come as the regime seeks to project an image of strength, cohesion and public support for the Basij. The Islamic Republic has released numerous images of its Janfada (self-sacrifice) training exercises, featuring women training with guns and drones. Janfada spokesperson Sasan Zare claimed that more than 500,000 women registered within 100 minutes of registration opening in the “National Resistance” battalions, filling the first 1,000 units.
Despite the alleged number of people enrolled in self-sacrifice training, the Iran Human Rights Monitor reported that the regime uses violent criminals to fill its ranks, offering parole to those willing to suppress protests and signs of dissent.
Based on testimonies received from inmates, their families, informed sources within the prisons, and field reports from human rights groups, criminals convicted of general, violent, or drug-related offenses were offered repentance forms in August and September and released on bail after registering with the Basij.
Although reports of personnel shortages within the Basij and IRGC predate the recent attacks, Macmillan suggested that financial desperation may push people to enlist despite the risk of assassination.
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