Credit: Morteza Nikoubazl/Getty Images

Iran executes nine convicted ISIS fighters

Nine members of the armed group ISIL (ISIS) who were found guilty of planning attacks against civilians were put to death by Iran. The executions were reported Tuesday by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, which said the men had been detained in 2018 during a deadly fight with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country’s unrest-plagued west.

What role did suicide bombings play in the clash?

According to the news site, nine members of the terrorist organization were executed after being confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court. The individuals had intended to carry out terrorist activities against the Iranian people.

The report accused the men of terrorism, unlawful possession of military weapons, and armed rebellion in order to wage war against God. Following their arrest, officials said that a stash of weaponry was found in the group’s base.

According to General Mohammad Pakpour, chief of the IRGC ground troops, the terrorist cell planned to enter Iran and launch simultaneous strikes in central and border cities. He said that many ISIL members detonated suicide vests during the operation, killing three Iranian forces. 

How has ISIL continued attacks despite its losses?

Before being forced back and severely crippled in a protracted assault spearheaded by the United States, the armed organization had held sizable portions of Syria and Iraq, it has, nonetheless, persisted in conducting intermittent strikes in a number of nations, including Iran.

More than 90 people were murdered in two explosions that targeted a memorial for Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in the city of Kerman in January of last year. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks. In 2017, the organization claimed to have attacked a mausoleum and Iran’s parliament, killing at least 18 people.

Iran has been working hard to disrupt terrorist activity directed at ISIS, particularly the ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) organization in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Iran. Iran is threatened by ISIS-K terrorist activities in the form of attacks that have threatened Iranian citizens in the region and even in Iran. 

In 2024, Iranian authorities were able to prevent dozens of terrorist operations from being carried out on Iranian territory before they were able to fulfill it and detained multiple ISIS-affiliated terrorists attempting to access Iranian territory. 

Iran frequently reports that it has arrested suspected ISIL fighters. Police said that 13 suspected members had been taken into custody during operations nationwide on Sunday. In its first attack on government forces since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, ISIL claimed credit for an attack on the Syrian army last month.

According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, Iran killed at least 972 individuals last year, which was the second-highest number in the world after China.

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