Iranian police arrest senior IS operative & others planning suicide attack during Ramadan

Iranian police announced the apprehension of a senior Islamic State operative along with two accomplices accused of plotting a suicide attack during the upcoming festivities marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

According to Iranian media reports, Mohammad Zaker, also known as “Ramesh,” and the two suspects were captured in Karaj, located west of Tehran, following clashes with law enforcement. Additionally, eight individuals accompanying the suspects were detained.

Islamic State, known for its animosity towards Iran’s Shiite community, claimed responsibility for two explosions in January that targeted a memorial event, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100 people and injuring many others.

These attacks commemorated the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a prominent Iranian commander, in Iraq by a US drone in 2020.

In January, Iran arrested 35 individuals, including a commander from Islamic State’s Afghanistan-based branch, Isis-Khorasan (Isis-K), allegedly linked to twin bombings on January 3 in Kerman, a southeastern city.

Furthermore, on March 22, gunmen carried out a deadly attack at a concert hall near Moscow, claiming the lives of at least 144 people. US intelligence sources attributed both the January 3 attacks in Iran and the March 22 shootings in Moscow to Islamic State’s branch, Isis-K.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Iran had tipped off Russia of the possibility of a major attack on its soil.

In 2022, Islamic State took responsibility for an attack on a Shiite shrine in Iran that killed 15 people. Earlier attacks claimed by Islamic State include twin bombings in 2017 that targeted Iran’s parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Islamic State once occupied large swathes of Iraq and Syria, imposing a reign of terror and inspiring lone wolf attacks in Western countries.

With inputs from Reuters