A video still of the attack on the judiciary building in Zahedan, capital of Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. AFP
A video still of the attack on the judiciary building in Zahedan, capital of Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. AFP
A video still of the attack on the judiciary building in Zahedan, capital of Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. AFP
A video still of the attack on the judiciary building in Zahedan, capital of Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. AFP

Six killed in attack on court building in south-east Iran


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Six people, including a woman and a child, were killed in an attack on the Zahedan judicial centre in Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, Iranian state news agency Irna reported on Saturday.

Twenty-two other people were injured, it said, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces.

The attack on Saturday was carried out by unknown gunmen, the judiciary's Mizan Online outlet said.

The assailants opened fire inside the building in Azadi Street in Zahedan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

"This morning, an armed group attempted to enter the Zahedan courthouse, but the vigilance of law enforcement and security forces prevented them from entering the building and, after that, the terrorists started an armed conflict by using weapons and throwing grenades," the agency quoted the chief justice of Sistan-Baluchestan province as saying.

Irna reported that a number of the injured were in a critical condition.

State media referred to the assailants as "terrorists" and said they were carrying explosive vests. The attackers were killed, Irna added.

The Baloch militant group Jaish Al Adl claimed responsibility for the attack, Tasnim reported.

Jaish Al Adl wants independence for Iran’s eastern Sistan and Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan provinces.

The Sistan-Baluchestan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.

In October, an attack on an Iranian police convoy in the province killed at least 10 officers.

The head of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Dr Mohammad Hassan Mohammadi, said emergency services responded to the incident and carried out "diagnostic and surgical procedures" on the wounded.

Visitors were evacuated, Tasnim reported.

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Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes 

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

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When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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  • £250m to train new AI models
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The biog

Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician

Hometown: Ghazala, Syria

Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978

Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter

Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi

Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.

Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo

Favourite food: fresh fish

Updated: July 28, 2025, 4:08 AM