Saudis 'behind Jundullah hostage taking'

A report reveals Saudi Arabian intelligence agencies were behind the abduction of a group of Iranian police officers by Jundullah.

Sixteen Iranian police officers were abducted by Jundullah (Soldiers of God) terrorists at a checkpoint in the southeastern city of Saravan in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province on June 12.

The armed insurgents initially threatened to kill the hostages unless 200 of its members are released from Iranian prisons.

The cell killed three of the hostages in June. The Arabic-language TV channel al-Arabiya aired footage of the execution of the Iranian hostages.

After Iran refused to heed their warning, the terrorist group killed the remaining thirteen hostages on December 3.

Iran's Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi has warned that Iranian forces will deliver a "crushing response" to the militants in border areas.

The Arabic Nahrainnet website cited informed sources in Pakistan's Peshawar on Monday who claimed that Saudi Arabian intelligence agencies have significantly increased the number of their covert operations.

The sources also reported that Saudi Arabia has extended its channels of communication across Pakistan and particularly Peshawar over the past three months.

According to information obtained from sources in Peshawar, Saudi Arabia has been directly supporting Jundullah to carry out the hostage taking of Iranian police officers.

The report claims Saudi Arabia and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have been using the "proxy army" to destabilize the government in Iran.

Earlier in July, Pakistan's former Army Chief, Retired General Mirza Aslam Baig, said the outlawed group is the main recipient of US financial and military aid.

Baig said Washington has been providing Jundullah with training facilities to fuel unrest in the area and strain Tehran-Islamabad relations.

ABC News, in 2007, cited US and Pakistani intelligence sources that the group, which "has taken responsibility for the deaths and kidnappings of Iranian soldiers and officials", "has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials."

In another report in July, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that US Congressional leaders secretly agreed last year to President George W. Bush's $400-million funding request for a major escalation in covert operations in Iran.

Under the ruling, the US can arm and fund terrorist groups such as the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) and Jundullah militants.

The group's ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi describes his terrorist cell as a 'national movement' and denies any links to Washington. PressTV