Sunni militant 'executed by Iran'

Iranian authorities have executed a Jundullah Sunni militant in Zahedan, in the south-east of the country, the Fars news agency has reported.

Officials named the man as Abdolhamid Rigi, but said he was not the brother of Jundullah's leader, who has the same name, the semi-official agency said.

Jundullah have been blamed for several attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Last month 42 people, including six Revolutionary Guard commanders, were killed in a suicide bombing in Zahedan.

The deputy commander of the Guards' ground force, General Noor Ali Shooshtari, and the Guards' chief provincial commander, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh, were among the dead.

Abdolhamid Rigi was hanged in the Zahedan prison on Monday, Fars reported.

According to the agency, provincial police commander Gholam Ali Nekouei said: "He was convicted of kidnapping, being a Mohareb (enemy of God) and co-operating with [Jundullah leader Abdolmalek] Rigi's terrorist grouplet."

Sistan-Baluchistan is mainly made up of the Baluchi ethnic group, who belong to the Sunni Muslim minority of Shia-ruled Iran.

SISTAN-BALUCHISTAN ATTACKS

• May 2009 A bomb explodes at a mosque in the provincial capital Zahedan, killing 19 and injuring 60.
• February 2007 Suspected militants killed 11, including Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in a bomb attack in the provincial capital Zahedan.
• March 2006 Gunmen posing as police kill 22 people, many government employees, after closing the Zabol-Zahedan road.

Profile: Iran's Jundullah militants

Jundullah has previously been accused by Iran of terrorist activities in the province.

Thirteen members were executed in July, having been accused of various attacks, including the bombing of a mosque in May which killed 25 people.

The province borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has long been affected by smuggling, drug trafficking, banditry and kidnapping.

Jundullah, also known as the Popular Resistance Movement of Iran, says it is fighting against the political and religious oppression of the country's Sunni Muslims.