Iran arrests Jundallah chief Regi

Iran arrests Jundallah chief Regi from flight
The News, February 24, 2010

TEHRAN: Iran arrested a top Sunni militant on a flight from Dubai only 24 hours after it claimed he was at a US military base in Afghanistan, in what it hailed on Tuesday as a “defeat” for its Western arch-foes.

The claim came from Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, who said Abdolmalek Regi had even been issued an Afghan passport by the “Americans,” travelled to Europe and met with a Nato military chief in Afghanistan.

State television aired footage of a handcuffed Regi, dressed in a white shirt and Khaki trousers, as masked agents led him off an aircraft at an airstrip at an unknown location in Iran.

It was not immediately clear how the Iranian authorities were able to remove the leader of the shadowy rebel group Jundallah from the flight, which was said to be between Dubai and Kyrgyzstan.

Regi, Iran’s most wantedfugitive accused of launching deadly attacks from Pakistan, had been tracked by Iranian agents for five months before his arrest, said Moslehi. The capture was “a great defeat for the US and the UK,” the minister said at a media conference reported by Iranian state media, accusing the United States and Britain of involvement in “continuous plots” in the region.

“He was arrested on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan,” Moslehi said, adding “It is such a scandal for Dubai in this incident, which shows that the Zionist regime (Israel), by using (the) US and Europe, is seeking to turn the region into a haven for terrorists.

“This scandal cannot be covered up,” said Moslehi, who held up pictures of Rigi he said were taken “inside a US military base in Afghanistan by Iranian agents”, and of his identity card. In Washington, a US official said Moslehi’s claim that Rigi was at an American base in Afghanistan before his arrest was a “totally bogus accusation.”

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Related:
Iran 'arrests leader of Sunni militants Jundullah' - BBC
Iran captures Sunni insurgent leader Abdolmalek Rigi - Guardian
Pakistan helped Iran nab Jundallah chief - Dawn