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President Obama is denouncing a suicide attack by the Sunni terrorists Jundallah that killed 39 in Iran, but is his administration still backing the group? Reza Aslan on how the bombing might bring the two countries together.
A Sunni terrorist organization that may have ties to the U.S. government is claiming responsibility for a coordinated suicide bombing attack Wednesday at a Shiite mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Chahbahar. Thirty-nine people, including women and children gathered to celebrate the holy day of Ashura, were killed and nearly 100 more were wounded.
The group, which calls itself Jundullah, or Soldiers of God, has been responsible for half a dozen suicide bombings—a rare occurrence in Iran—that have resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Iranians. Founded in 2003 by Abdolmalek Rigi, a Sunni militant who reportedly trained with the Taliban in Pakistan, Jundullah is based in the Sistan-Balochistan region of southeastern Iran. Its members are primarily ethnic Baluchis: Sunni Muslims in a country that by some estimates is more than 90 percent Shiite.