PAKISTAN RETALIATES WITH STRIKES AT IRAN
NINE, MOSTLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, KILLED IN TIT-FOR-TAT RAIDS
Pakistan launched deadly strikes against militant targets in Iran yesterday in retaliation for Iranian strikes on its territory, further stoking tensions and prompting Iran to summon Pakistan’s envoy.
At least nine people were killed in the strikes in restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, most of them women or children. The tit-for-tat strikes are the highest-profile crossborder intrusions in recent years and have raised alarm over wider instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7.
‘Terrorist’ targets
They came just two days after Iran carried out raids on what it described as “terrorist” targets in Pakistan, killing at least two children.
While Iran and Pakistan often accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other’s territory, cross-border operations by government forces have been rare.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry described yesterday’s raids as a “series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts” in Sistan-Baluchistan.
The strikes took place at around 4.30 am (0100 GMT), with three drones destroying four houses in a village near the city of Saravan, IRNA said, citing Alireza Marhamati, deputy governor of the province.
Iranian media carried images showing severely damaged homes, with one video showing people gathered around a crater. All those killed were Pakistanis and investigations were under way to determine why they were in the Iranian village.
The raids targeted Baluch separatists, according to the Pakistani army. The military has been waging a decadeslong fight against separatist groups in its sparsely populated border region.
While Iran and Pakistan often accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other’s territory, cross-border operations by government forces have been rare.