Harakat Ansar Iran ( fa, حرکت انصار ایران; ''Movement of the Partisans of Iran'') was a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

organization active from 2012 to 2013 in the Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency. It is a designated terrorist organization by Iran and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It was one of two militant groups, along with its ally Jaish ul-Adl, which split from Jundallah after the arrest of its leader in 2010. Harakat Ansar was initially led by Mohammad Shafi who was killed in Pakistan. After his death, Hesham Azizi a.k.a. Abu Hafs al Baloochi became the leader. According to '' Mashregh News'', the group received support from Saudi Arabia and the Taliban. The group later dropped "Iran" from their name, calling themselves Harakat al-Ansar ( ar, حرکة الانصار), which uses Arabic rather than the former Persian name. The group merged with ''Hizbul-Furqan'' and formed

Ansar Al-Furqan Ansar Al-Furqan ( ar, انصار الفرقان, Partisans of the Criterion) is a Sunni Baloch militant organization active in Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency and a designated terrorist organization by Iran. The group was established in Decemb ...

in late 2013.

References

Islamism in Iran Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran Organisations designated as terrorist by Iran Salafi Islamist groups Sunni Islamist groups Organisations designated as terrorist by Japan Organizations established in 2012 Organizations disestablished in 2013 {{Iran-stub