9 dead in Pakistan strikes on Iran

Pakistan launched deadly strikes on Thursday against militant targets in Iran in apparent retaliation for Iranian air raids on its territory, further stoking tensions and prompting Tehran to summon Pakistan's envoy.

Nine people, including three women and four children, were killed in the Pakistani strikes in restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, according to Iran's IRNA news agency.

It came just two days after Iran conducted strikes against what it described as "terrorist" targets in neighbouring Pakistan, killing at least two children.

While Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan often accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other's territory to launch attacks, it is rare that official forces on either side engage.

Pakistan's foreign ministry described Thursday's raids as a "series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts" in Sistan-Baluchistan.

Drones and rockets were used in the strikes, which targeted Baluch separatist movements, the army said. The Pakistani military has been waging a decades-long fight against the separatist groups in its sparsely populated border region.

Iran condemned the strikes, and summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires "to protest and request an explanation from the Pakistani government," Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

Fars news agency said those killed were believed to be Pakistani nationals, without citing its sources.

Pakistan said the strikes were launched in light of "credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities," adding that "a number of terrorists were killed."

Islamabad affirmed it "fully respects" Iran's sovereignty and said the strikes' "sole objective" was to ensure "Pakistan's own security and national interest which is paramount and cannot be compromised."

Iranian media said the strikes hit a village near the city of Saravan. Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said his country's strikes in Pakistan were in response to the Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) jihadist group's recent deadly attacks on the Islamic republic.

Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.

Pakistan denounced Iran's strike near their shared border, recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning to Islamabad.

Source: AFP