Human rights organization Haalvsh has released a video that it shows members of the Iran-backed Fatemiyoun militia wearing military uniforms and carrying weapons while patrolling mountainous areas in Rudmahi, near Zahedan in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
According to Haalvsh and local sources cited by the organization, the footage was recorded on Sunday, September 27, and released two days later. The video shows several armed men moving through the mountainous terrain and conducting what appears to be a patrol. The footage and the identities of the individuals could not be independently verified.
The report follows an earlier video released by Haalvsh showing what the organization identified as Fatemiyoun members receiving firearms training inside a newly built girls’ school in the Gosht area of Saravan. Haalvsh said it was continuing to investigate reports of Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun personnel being deployed and moved across parts of Sistan-Baluchestan.
The reports come after Haalvsh said at least four Fatemiyoun members were killed by unidentified gunmen in Rudmahi earlier in September while they were on patrol. Their vehicle was reportedly set on fire. Iran International also reported the deaths, citing Haalvsh, while nottities of the attackers had not been established.
The Fatemiyoun Division is an Afghan Shiite militia that has historically operated under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. The U.S. Treasury Department said in 2019 that the group was composed of Afghan nationals and that its fighters were recruited largrant and refugee communities in Iran for deployment to Syria. Washington designated the Fatemiyoun and Pakistan-based Zainabiyoun Brigade under counterterrorism and human-rights authorities.
The reported presence of foreign-backed armed groups in Sistan-Baluchestan comes amid heightened security tensions in the province, where Iranian forces have also been involved in clashes with armed Baloch groups. Recent reporting has highlighted continued instability in tased security operations.
Haalvsh said it is continuing to document reports concerning the presence and movements of Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun personnel in Sistan-Baluchestan. No independent evidence has so far established the full scale of the alleged deployment.
