Manouchehr Mottaki & Fahmida Mirza

TEHRAN: Iran has arrested top Sunni militant leader Abdolmalek Rigi who has been accused of masterminding a series of deadly bombings and killings, local media reported on Tuesday.

Tehran based Arabic news channel Al-Alam said that he has been arrested in the “east of the country”, while the Fars news agency is quoting the Iranian intelligence ministry saying the arrest did take place for the “Jundallah leader along with two of his group members.”

No further information has been forwarded so far.

Rigi heads a shadowy Sunni militant group called Jundallah (Army of God) which has been accused by Iranian officials of carrying out several attacks in the Sistan-Balochistan province.

The province, which houses a significant population of Sunni Baloch, is a hotbed of Sunni insurgency against Shia rule in Iran.

Pakistani security forces have captured several members of the Jundallah terrorist group and handed them over to Iranian authorities.

During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Sunday, visiting Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Fahmida Mirza said that a number of Jundallah militants have been arrested and extradited to Iran.

She went on to say that Pakistani security personnel are making serious efforts to apprehend the Jundallah members still at large.

Jundallah is a Pakistan-based terrorist group comprised of members of the Baluchi ethnic group.

It has been reported that Jundallah is closely affiliated with the al-Qaeda network.

Since 2003, Jundallah members have carried out over 50 terrorist operations in Iran.

The government of Iran has accused them of mass murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, carrying out bombings targeting civilians and government officials, and acts of sabotage.

Abdolmalek Rigi is the leader of the terrorist group.

In their latest attack, which occurred on October 18, more than 40 Iranians, among them 15 members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), lost their lives when Jundallah terrorists carried out a an operation in the border region of Pishin, which is located in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Shia and Sunni tribal leaders were also among the victims of the attack.

During his meeting with the Pakistani parliament speaker, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran and Islamabad play significant roles in regional developments.

The two countries should endeavor to expand their strategic cooperation since there is ample potential to this end, he added.