Iran arrests seven alleged members of Sunni rebel group

Iranian authorities have arrested seven alleged members of the Sunni militant group Jundallah and will put them on trial, a judiciary official said today.

"The charges against these seven people are that they are mohareb (fighters against God) and belong to the terrorist group of Abdulmalek Rigi," Ebrahim Hamidi, head of the Sistan-Baluchestan province judiciary, told Fars news agency.

Rigi heads the Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group which is engaged in an insurgency against Tehran's Shiite rule in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"The files of these defendants... with their indictments have been sent to the court. Their trial will soon be held and the court of first instance will issue its verdict," Hamidi said.

Iran has regularly accused Jundallah of launching attacks in Sistan-Baluchestan province. It also accuses the intelligence services of Pakistan, the United States and Britain of providing aid to the group so it can launch attacks inside Iran.

Jundallah claimed an October 18 suicide bombing in the province which killed more than 40 people, including 15 members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran said those responsible for the bombing were based in Pakistan and also demanded that Islamabad hand Rigi over. Islamabad has strongly denied it helps Jundallah or that Rigi operates from Pakistani soil.