No sign of kidnapped border guards

The kidnap of five Iranian border guards by militants in Pakistan has caused a sudden surge in tensions between Tehran and Islamabad, amid concerns about a widening proxy conflict created by the war in Syria.

The militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which snatched the soldiers from a border post last month, is threatening to execute them unless hundreds of Sunni prisoners are released from Iranian and Syrian jails.

Pakistan has accused Iranian troops of violating its territory by firing mortar rounds over the border in recent days, while Iran suspects that the militants are backed by Saudi Arabia, with tacit Pakistani consent.

The crisis took another twist at the weekend when Pakistani security forces launched an operation to free the hostages.

A total of 11 prisoners held by Jaish alAdl were rescued but officials in Tehran said yesterday that the five guards were not among them. ‘‘I don’t know who these 11 are or whether they are Iranians. The only thing I can confirm is that the five border guards are not among them,’’ said one.

The men were seized in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, a region notorious for attacks by Sunni militants on Iranian troops and officials. Jaish al-Adl took the men into Pakistan before releasing a video of the captives and issuing its demands.