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All,

we are heading RTW starting day after xmas out of Singapore and have been monitoring situation in PK, IR and TR. I subscribe to a sercurity alert service and received this update which should be of interest to those traveling through Zahedan, Kerman, and the southeastern provinces of Iran:
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14 Dec 2007
>CLASHES IN SOUTH-EASTERN PROVINCE REFLECT CONTINUED RISK POSED BY SUNNI MILITANT ACTIVITY
Police officers killed several suspected members of the Baluchi Sunni militant group Jundallah on 12 December in a gun battle near the town of Iranshahr (around 320 miles (515km) south-east of the capital Tehran) in Sistan-e Baluchistan province. They also made a number of arrests.

Jundallah has capitalised on a rise in Sunni Islamist militancy in the border region with Pakistan and the government’s limited authority in the south-east to carry out attacks on government and security officials and facilities (possibly with foreign support), but has not targeted foreign businesses to date. Control Risks advises that business travel to the south-east can continue. However, personnel should avoid the border city of Zabol (around 620 miles (990km) south-east of Tehran) and outlying areas of Sistan-e Baluchistan; exercise vigilance in the provincial capital Zahedan (around 480 miles (770km) south-east of Tehran); and avoid travel after dark in all areas of Sistan-e Baluchistan and neighbouring Kerman province. Personnel are also advised to follow travel management procedures and use secure accommodation. Businesses should incorporate the possibility of an intensified campaign by Jundallah that constitutes an incidental risk to their employees into their crisis management and business continuity plans.

Provincial police chief Gen Mohammad Ghaffari said that the militants were members of Jundallah and that arms, explosives, communication equipment and documents have been seized. Local media reports varied as to the exact number of those killed and arrested, with some placing the number of dead at 12 and others only four.

Militant campaign

The predominantly Sunni Muslim Baluchis, who have their own language, form only 2% of Iran’s mainly Shia Muslim and Persian-speaking population but predominate in Sistan-e Baluchistan. The government’s limited authority in the south-east has been exacerbated by the region’s underdevelopment, its distance from the centre of power, the activities of Sunni and Baluchi ethnic groups and tribal resentment of the central government. These factors have also fuelled the development of smuggling and drug-trafficking activities. Jundallah originated in response to the killing by the security forces of relatives of many of the group’s current leaders, and most of its supporters do not seek a separate Baluchi state. Instead, they seek greater government patronage and improved treatment for ethnic Baluchis.