Four abducted soldiers back in Iran: Report
Jaishul Adl rebel group says fifth soldier was executed in late March.
Iranian guards. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
TEHRAN:
Four Iranian soldiers abducted by militants have returned home after being held for two months, state media on Sunday cited the intelligence ministry as saying.
The ministry did not address the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, a fifth soldier abducted alongside his fellow border guards on February 6.
The Jaishul Adl rebel group said Danayifar was executed in late March.
“Four of the abducted border guards returned to the Islamic homeland,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB’s website.
Reports on Friday said the four, along with Danayifar’s body, had been handed over to Iranian officials inside Pakistan after being released.
No details were immediately available on where the soldiers had been held while prisoner, or how Iran secured their freedom.
The five were abducted in Sistan-Balochistan, while serving their 24-month mandatory military service near the border. The news that Danayifar had been “executed” drew international condemnation.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2014.
Four Iranian soldiers abducted by militants have returned home after being held for two months, state media on Sunday cited the intelligence ministry as saying.
The ministry did not address the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, a fifth soldier abducted alongside his fellow border guards on February 6.
The Jaishul Adl rebel group said Danayifar was executed in late March.
“Four of the abducted border guards returned to the Islamic homeland,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB’s website.
Reports on Friday said the four, along with Danayifar’s body, had been handed over to Iranian officials inside Pakistan after being released.
No details were immediately available on where the soldiers had been held while prisoner, or how Iran secured their freedom.
The five were abducted in Sistan-Balochistan, while serving their 24-month mandatory military service near the border. The news that Danayifar had been “executed” drew international condemnation.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2014.