Baloch Citizen Injured in Security Forces’ Shooting at Checkpoint on Outskirts of Zahedan

Baloch Citizen Injured in Security Forces’ Shooting at Checkpoint on Outskirts of Zahedan
Early Wednesday morning, August 19, 2026, a Baloch citizen was seriously injured after security forces opened fire at a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Zahedan, in southeastern Iran, on the road toward Zabol, according to the Balochistan Human Rights Group.
The injured man was identified as Younes Rakhshani, son of Abdolrahman, a resident of Zahedan.
According to the report, the incident took place at around 2:20 a.m. Younes was driving a passenger car with four relatives on board. They were traveling toward Zabol to seek medical treatment for one of the passengers.
At the police checkpoint, plainclothes security forces opened fire on the vehicle and placed a tire-puncturing road barrier in its path in an apparent attempt to stop it.
During the shooting, one bullet struck Younes Rakhshani in the lower back, seriously injuring him. He was subsequently taken to Khatam al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan, where he remains hospitalized and is receiving medical treatment. The other four passengers were not injured.
As of the time of the report, no further information was available about why the security forces opened fire or why the vehicle was targeted.
According to documentation collected in 2025, direct shootings, raids on homes, landmine explosions, and beatings by military and security forces affected at least 173 people in Balochistan. Of these, 107 people were killed and 66 were injured. Among those killed were three women and one child, while the injured included 16 women and four children.