Islamabad, Pakistan CNN –
Pakistan carried out a series of deadly military strikes on alleged separatist militant hideouts in Iran. The latest incident across the shared border has raised tensions between the two neighbors.
The new attacks mean that both Pakistan and Iran have taken the extraordinary step of attacking militants on each other's soil this week at a time of intensifying conflict in the Middle East and the wider region.
Islamabad said on Thursday its forces launched a “series of highly coordinated and targeted precision military strikes” in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Balochistan province as part of an operation called “Marg Bar Sarmachar” – a phrase that loosely translates to “death to guerrilla fighters.” .”
“Several” militants were killed in the operation, Pakistan’s foreign ministry added.
Tehran demanded “an immediate explanation” from Pakistan over the attacks, the state-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported, citing an official.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, and caretaker foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is visiting Uganda, will cut short their trips and return home.
The deputy governor of Sistan and Balochistan province, Alireza Marhamati, said nine people were killed in the attacks, including three women and four children, Iranian state media IRNA reported.
“At 4:30 a.m., explosions were heard in a border village and several rockets were fired at the village,” Marhamati said.
The deputy governor said another blast took place near Saravan town but there were no injuries in that blast.
Fayyaz Ahmed/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Mandatory photo credit: Photo by FAYYAZ AHMED/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (14304087d) Pakistani security officials inspect the site of an explosion in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan province, Pakistan, January 17, 2024. An explosion on Zarghoon Road in Quetta killed nine People were injured, including a traffic police officer and three children, when explosives placed in a garbage heap exploded while the children were searching it. Senior Superintendent of Police Jawad Tariq confirmed the incident, saying it was not a security breach and that the injured had been shifted to the Civil Hospital, with two of them in critical condition. This follows recent attacks, including a grenade attack on a PPP candidate in Turbat and a school where Kharan was attacked during a training session for polling staff. Nine people injured in explosion in Quetta, Pakistan – January 17, 2024
Why are Iran and Pakistan attacking each other's territory – and what does that have to do with the Middle East?
Both Pakistan and Iran have long been fighting militants in the restive Baloch region along their 900-kilometer border, but the latest incident represents a significant escalation between the two neighboring powers and comes at a time of heightened regional hostilities in the Middle East In addition to Israel's ongoing conflicts, the war in Gaza is increasing.
Pakistan said on Thursday it had expressed concern to Iran in recent years about the “safe havens and sanctuaries” of Pakistani separatist fighters, called Sarmachar, living in Iran and that they had shared evidence of the militants' presence and activities .
“However, in the absence of any response to our serious concerns, these so-called Sarmachars continued to shed the blood of innocent Pakistanis with impunity. This morning’s actions were taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activity,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Pakistan stated that it “fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and that “the sole objective of today's law was the pursuit of Pakistan's own security and national interests, which are of utmost importance and will not be jeopardized.” may”.
The Pakistani operation comes a day after Iran said it had used “precision missile and drone strikes” to destroy two strongholds of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, according to Tasnim news agency.
Two children were killed and several others injured in the attacks, according to local officials and Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, which called the attack a “groundless violation of its airspace by Iran” and warned Iran of “grave consequences.”
There was also a diplomatic spat with Pakistan on Wednesday that saw the Iranian ambassador recalled and all high-level Iranian visits suspended.
A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said Iran's ambassador to Pakistan should not return from a recent visit to Iran and warned: “Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this unlawful act.”
Iran has defended the attacks and appeared to be trying to calm tensions with its nuclear-powered neighbor.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said his country had only targeted Iranian “terrorists” on Pakistani soil and that “none of the nationals of the friendly country Pakistan were attacked by Iran's missiles and drones.”
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman had previously defended the attacks as a “precise and targeted” operation to deter security threats.
But the deadly attack on Pakistani territory has seriously damaged relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Jilani told his Iranian counterpart.
“The Foreign Minister strongly emphasized that Iran’s attack on Pakistani territory on January 16, 2024 was not only a serious violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty but also a serious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.” said the ministry.
Jilani also warned that unilateral actions could undermine regional security and said terrorism was a common threat that must be combated through coordinated efforts, his office said.
However, Pakistan has also reiterated that it views Iran as “friends and brothers” and has “no interest in escalating the situation.”
The Baloch people live where Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet. They have historically shown a fiercely independent streak and have always resented being ruled by both Islamabad and Tehran, with insurgencies simmering in the porous border region for decades.
The area where they live is also rich in natural resources, and Baloch separatists complain that their population, among the region's poorest, sees little wealth flowing into their communities.
Jaish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, which was targeted by Iran on Tuesday, is a separatist militant group that operates on both sides of the border and has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Iranian targets.
Its stated goal is the independence of the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan, which borders Pakistan.
On Wednesday it claimed responsibility for an attack on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vehicle in Sistan and Balochistan that killed one of its colonels, according to Iranian state media.
Attacks by Iran and its allies
The attacks came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at an alleged Mossad spy base in Erbil, northern Iraq, and at “anti-Iran terrorist groups” in Syria.
Iran said the attacks in Iraq were in response to alleged Israeli attacks that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders, and claimed targets in Syria were involved in recent twin bombings in the city of Kerman during a memorial ceremony for the slain Quds commander -Troop Qasem was involved in Soleimani, which left numerous dead and wounded.
The international terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Soleimani monument.
Iran's proxies in the region have also launched attacks on Israeli forces and their allies.
Houthi rebels have carried out a series of attacks on merchant ships and Western military vessels in the Red Sea, a key artery for international trade. And Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria have launched dozens of attacks on U.S. military positions in those countries.
Since Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, the militant group Hezbollah has engaged in daily confrontations with Israeli forces on the Lebanese-Israeli border. On Wednesday, Israel's military chief said the likelihood of war on the country's northern border was now “much higher” than in recent times and that Israel was increasing its readiness for “fighting in Lebanon.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian told CNN on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that attacks by Iran-backed groups in the Middle East will not stop until Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza ends, as tensions rise across the region threaten to exacerbate conflict.
This story has been updated with additional developments.