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Iran's judiciary says it had executed a number of Sunni rebels

Xinhua, August 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iran's Kurdistan province judiciary said Thursday that a number of Sunni Kurdish rebels who had killed local officials and civilians were executed recently, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The Takfiri members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group committed the crimes in 2009, the judiciary said in a statement, adding that they were hanged on Tuesday morning.

Takfiri groups, in Iran's political and religious terminology, refers to the extremist Sunni Muslims.

The statement did not specify the number of the executed men, but some western media put the number at least at 20.

The terrorist acts of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group resulted in the death of 21 officials and people in Iran's Kurdistan province. They also injured 40 others in their terrorist operations, according to the statement.

On Wednesday, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said that it had dismantled a "terrorist" cell in 2012, in the western province of Kurdistan suspected of attacks on local officials and security forces.

The members of the "Tawhid and Jihad" group had killed 20 Iranian officials and people, injured 40 others, and were involved in armed robbery during the past years, the ministry said in a statement.

Some of the cell members were killed and some others were arrested in clashes with police and security forces, it said, adding that some of those who were arrested were executed recently.

Iran's seven million Kurds make up around 10 percent of the population. Most of them live in Kurdistan and other northwestern provinces on the border with Iraq. Many Kurds seek greater rights for their region.

The area has seen increased clashes between Kurdish militants and government security forces in recent months. Endit