Iran's minister vows to confront terrorist attacks in western province

TEHRAN, Sept. 21 -- Iran's newly chosen Interior Minister Mostafa

Mohammad Najjar has vowed to seriously confront terrorist attacks in the

country's western province of Kurdistan, the semi-official Fars news agency

reported on Tuesday.

Najjar said that a special committee will be deployed for "investigation

into the recent attacks" in Kurdistan, according to the report.

Najjar attributed the attacks to foreign elements and said that" the

fingerprints of foreign elements could surely be traced behind the terrorist

attacks."

He vowed that the culprits will be dealt with seriously and "soon be

brought to justice."

In the past month, some top pro-governmental clerics and judges, including

Kurdistan's representative in Iran's Assembly of Experts, the provisional Sunni

Friday prayer leader and a judge in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province,

were targeted by unknown gunmen, apparently Sunni rebels in the region.

The Iranian western province has been the hotbed of armed clashes between

security forces and Kurdish militant groups, in particular the separatist Party

of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an anti-Iranian Kurdish group linked to

Turkey's outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Some Iranian analysts said that PJAK rebels have bases in northeastern Iraq

from where they operate against Iran.