Pakistan Carries Out Strikes on Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province

By Al Mayadeen English

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirms the Pakistani military carried out military strikes against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran.

The Pakistan military carried out overnight strikes in Iran, an intelligence official said Thursday, a couple of days after Tehran attacked positions of the Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group in Pakistan.

"I can only confirm that we have conducted strikes against anti-Pakistan militant groups that were targeted inside Iran," a senior intelligence source not authorized to give information to the media told AFP.

Later, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that the Pakistani military carried out military strikes against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran.

In a statement, Islamabad said it respects Tehran's sovereignty, adding that the "sole objective of today's act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest."

Iranian state media reported that three women and four children were killed after the explosions in the country's southeast.

"Pakistan attacked an Iranian border village with missiles," state television said, adding that "three women, four children were killed, all non-Iranian nationals."

Earlier, Alireza Marhamati, the deputy governor of the province for security and law enforcement, reported that sounds of explosions were heard in several areas of Saravan County in the Iranian southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan.

"The sound of several explosions was heard in several areas around Saravan," Iranian news agency Mehr quoted Marhamati as saying. The news agency said that several were injured in drone and missile strikes in Iran.

On Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles and drones at a base of the terrorist group Jaish ul-Adl in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan region in retaliation for terrorist attacks on its own territory.

Jaish ul-Adl also confirmed in a statement that its positions were hit in the long-range strikes carried out by the IRGC late Monday, Mehr reported.  The group said that at least six suicide drones and several missiles hit the militants' sites in the border mountains of Pakistan's Balochistan.

The IRGC specified that its target included "gatherings of terrorists linked to the terrorist operations carried out in Iran recently."

The Jaish ul-Adl terror group has conducted several bomb attacks and kidnappings in southeastern Iran over the past years, targeting both civilians and security forces. 

On Monday, Iranian Police Chief Brigadier General Ahmadreza Radan announced that the security forces in Iran have successfully identified and apprehended the four main individuals sought in connection with a terrorist attack on the police headquarters in Rask County, located in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan last month.

Radan reported that the terrorists were ambushed and apprehended in recent days through an operation conducted by counter-terrorism police units, highlighting that this successful operation dealt a significant blow to the Jaish ul-Adl terror group, which had claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The police chief mentioned that various firearms and devices intended for terrorist activities were seized from the detainees, emphasizing that a thorough investigation is currently underway, and the findings will be made public once the process is completed.

Pakistan declared on Wednesday suspending all high-level visits scheduled with Iran in the coming days, recalled its ambassador to Tehran, and announced that the Iranian envoy to Islamabad, who is currently visiting his country, "may not return for the time being."

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry also described Iran's strikes as an "unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty" and in violation of international law and the principles of the UN Charter.

"Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act. The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran," the Ministry said.