Iran's state radio says its security forces have arrested a leader of an armed Sunni opposition group that is waging a violent low-level campaign in southeastern Iran. The broadcast on Tuesday said that Iranian security forces had arrested Abdulmalik Rigi, leader of the Jundullah (Soldiers of God) group.

Jundullah has in recent years claimed responsibility for several bombing attacks inside Iran that have left dozens or people dead. 

An Iranian politician said that Rigi was arrested while travelling on a flight heading to an Arab country via Pakistan.

"Rigi was arrested in Persian Gulf waters while he was travelling on a plane via Pakistan to an Arab country," Mohammad  Dehghan was quoted Iran's the official IRNA news agency as saying.

"His plane was ordered to land, and then he was arrested after the plane was searched."

But Al-Alam television, the state-owned Arabic language service, reported that Rigi was arrested "inside Iran" on Tuesday in the eastern part of the country.

Prime target

Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said Rigi was a key target for Iranian intelligence.

"He [Rigi] has never denied that his group has some drug trafficking as his main economic backbone and Iran accuses him and his group as having the backing of American forces in the region and having a clear relationship with American intelligence," he said.

"Iran's interior minster says it has been very important for Iranian intelligence agents to arrest him alive."

Soon after reports of Rigi's capture, Iranian media reported Iran's intelligence minister as saying that Rigi had spent time at an American military base prior to his arrest.

"Abdulmalik Rigi was in an American military base 24 hours before his arrest ... He also travelled to some European countries ahead of his arrest," Heidar Moslehi was reported by Iran's Press TV as saying.

He was also quoted as saying that the Americans had issued Rigi with "an Afghan passport and an identification card for travelling to Pakistan".

Jundullah, which Iran suspects of having links with the al-Qaeda network, gained prominence six years ago with a series of sporadic attacks and kidnappings.

It claims that the minority Sunni tribes in southeastern Iran suffer at the hands of Tehran's Shia leadership.

Rigi had claimed in interviews in the past that the group does not seek to break away from Iran but that violence is necessary to draw attention to discrimination.