Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has freed its two soldiers, who were among the 12 soldiers kidnapped in 2018, in an intelligence operation inside Pakistan’s territory, Anadolu Agency reported. “A successful operation was carried out last Tuesday night to rescue two kidnapped border guards who were taken as hostages by Jaish ul-Adl organization two and a half years ago,” the IRGC was quoted as saying in an official statement on Wednesday. The statement said the soldiers have been transferred back to Iran.
On October 16, 2018, Jaish ul-Adl organisation kidnapped 12 IRGC guards to Pakistani territory in the city of Merkava in Sistan and Baluchestan Province on the border between the two countries, Anadolu Agency stated. Following this, Military officials reportedly formed a joint committee between Tehran and Islamabad to free the kidnapped IRCG soldiers. Five of the soldiers were released on November 15, 2018, while four more Iranian soldiers were rescued by the Pakistani army on March 21, 2019. According to Anadolu, Jaish ul-Adl organization, which Tehran has declared a terrorist organization, is waging an armed struggle against the Iranian government, saying it defends the rights of Baloch Sunnis in Iran.
The terrorist group, that has been staging cross-border attacks into southeast Iran from southwest Pakistan, had also claimed responsibility for the February 2019 attack on Iran’s Basij paramilitary base which killed and wounded dozens of IRGC members after their bus came under terrorist attack in the province.
