15 December 2010

Terror Attack on Iranian Mosque “Disgraceful,” Obama Says

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — President Obama denounced a bombing attack targeting Iranian civilians in Chabahar as “disgraceful and cowardly” and said that those who carried out the attack “must be held accountable.”

According to Iranian press reports, at least 41 people were killed and 50 more wounded in a suicide attack on a mosque that targeted Shiite Muslim worshippers on the eve of the Shiite holy day Ashura. The Iranian Sunni Muslim militant group Jundallah, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, has claimed responsibility for the carnage, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said December 15.

“The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship during Ashura is a despicable offense,” Obama said in a December 15 statement. He said the United States “stands with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured, and with the Iranian people, in the face of this injustice.”

Acts of terrorism such as what occurred in Chabahar “recognize no religious, political, or national boundaries,” he said, and the world must together “condemn and oppose all forms of terrorism and support the universal right of human beings to live free from fear and senseless violence.”

In a separate statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the attack targeted men, women and children who were worshipping at the mosque, and she extended condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims on behalf of the American people.

“This is yet another example of terrorists using cowardly methods to inflict pain and fear on innocent civilians. The perpetrators of this attack must be held to account for their actions,” she said.

“The United States condemns all forms of terrorism and sectarian-driven violence, wherever it occurs, and we stand with the victims of these abhorrent and reprehensible acts. The global community must remain vigilant in combating terrorist organizations and individuals that threaten lives in every part of the world,” Clinton said.

On November 3, Clinton designated Jundallah as a foreign terrorist organization in response to its numerous attacks on Iranian civilians and government officials since the group’s inception in 2003.

According to a November 3 media note,  Jundallah has used suicide bombings, ambushes, kidnappings and targeted assassinations, including a May 2009 attack on the crowded Shiite Amir al-Mo’menin Mosque in Zahedan, an October 2009 bomb attack that killed more than 40 people in the town of Pishin, and a July 2010 attack on the Grand Mosque in Zahedan.

“The [Obama] Administration condemned the Grand Mosque attack in the strongest possible terms and stated that the United States extends its sympathy to the families and loved ones of those injured and killed,” the note said, adding that both Obama and Clinton also “called for the perpetrators of this horrific attack to be held accountable for their actions.”

The U.S. designation of Jundallah, and other organizations, as terrorist groups is an effective means of curtailing support for their activities and pressuring them to abandon terrorism, the note said.

“The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against persons knowingly providing material support or resources to Jundallah, and the blocking of all property and interests in property of the organization that are in the United States, or come within the United States, or the control of U.S. persons.”

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)