The capture of Jundullah leader Abdolmalek Rigi

Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of Jundallah militant group, was nabbed in Iran on 23rd Feb in a dramatic fashion. His post-arrest statement and a photo allegedly showing him at a US base in Afghanistan just 24 hours before his arrest has sparked an interest debate on US role with Jundallah under Obama’s administration.

Although Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell rejected that the US has been supporting the terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi did appear on Voice of America’s Persian service in 2007. Some analysts, including Seymour Hersh, attribute the capture of Rigi to Pakistan that it is a counter to US/NATO’s push in Helmand and Marjah region to drive out militants into Pakistani Baluchistan and then eventually gaining control of Gawadar port from Chinese in the guise of taking out these militants (from Russia Today, see below).