Profile: Iran's Jundullah militants[jundallah]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8314431.stmSunday, 20 June 2010
Nation without a state
The Baluchis in Iran - and their brethren across the border in Pakistan - see themselves, rather like the Kurds, as a nation without a state.
But in predominantly Shia Iran, the issue is complicated by the fact that they are Sunni Muslim.
This has led them to claim sectarian persecution - and the Iranian authorities to accuse them of being in league with foreigners.
The list of powers alleged to be supporting them is a long one.
It includes the United States, Britain, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - and militant groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
During the Bush administration, there were allegations - for example, by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh - that the CIA was supporting Iran's Baluchi, Kurdish and Arab minorities to undermine the Islamic Republic.
If there was such a policy, it is not clear if the Obama administration has scrapped it.
It was quick to condemn Sunday's attack as an "act of terrorism".
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