Sunni Rebels Vow Revenge After Leader Hanged In Iran

WASHINGTON - The Sunni rebel group Jundallah has threatened retaliation against Iran for the reported execution of its chief Abdolmalek Rigi, US-based monitors said Monday.

The Jundallah (Soldiers of God) gave a brief eulogy for Rigi, who it said had achieved "martyrdom," according to the SITE Intelligence Group based just outside Washington.

In a statement released on its website and distributed on jihadist forums shortly after reports of the execution, Jundallah issued a stark warning to Iran.

"History will prove that many Abdolmaleks will emerge and that victory and glory are theirs, and that the oppressive regime in Iran will be defeated and the movement will celebrate that great day," it said, according to a translation provided by SITE.

The group also contested official media reports that its former leader had been executed, insisting that Rigi had in fact "died under the pressure of torture and punishment," and that Iran only said it had executed him in order to avoid a scandal.

The group claims it is fighting to secure rights for Sunni Baluchis who form a significant population in Sistan-Baluchestan, a southeastern Iranian province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan where Jundallah has waged a deadly insurgency.

Rigi was captured in a dramatic operation in February while on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan, when Iranian warplanes forced the plane he was travelling on to land in Iran.

Soon after his arrest, Jundallah claimed it had appointed Muhammad Dhahir Baluch as its new leader, according to SITE. Iranian state media meanwhile alleged the United States had offered to provide the militant aid to battle the Islamic regime.

His hanging came less than a month after his brother Abdolhamid was executed on charges of "terrorism."

The latest attack claimed by the group was a suicide bombing last October that killed at least 42 people, including seven Revolutionary Guards commanders in the town of Pisheen.