Pakistan bombs Baloch rebellion in Iran, nine killed. international

Two days after Tehran launched missiles and drones at Baloch Islamic Organization targets in Pakistani territory, Pakistan early Thursday struck several targets in Iranian territory allegedly linked to the Baloch insurgency, an action Islamabad called “unacceptable.” Was. ,

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that “precision military strikes” were launched against “terrorist targets” in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province and as a result, “several terrorists” were killed. In a statement to state agency IRNA, Ali Reza Marhamati, deputy governor of the province, which borders Pakistan, said three women and four children of “non-Iranian” nationality had died. Subsequently, the same source reported the deaths of two individuals, whose nationality was not specified. A video published at the alleged bombing site by Iranian agency Nour News showed several destroyed or severely damaged one-story adobe buildings and a large hole in the ground.

As Tehran did after the attack on Pakistan, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stressed that Iran is “a brother country” and that it respects its “sovereignty”, but expressed concern over the continued use of Baloch insurgents in “uncontrolled areas within Iran”. Appearance criticized. The Pakistani statement condemned: “In recent years, in our interactions with Iran, Pakistan has shared its concerns about the refuge and sanctuaries enjoyed by these terrorists of Pakistani origin, who call themselves ‘Sarmachers.’ (…) However, in the absence of action, these so-called ‘Sarmacharis’ continue to shed the blood of innocent Pakistanis with impunity.’

The Iranian Foreign Ministry this Thursday summoned the charge d’affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Tehran and demanded an “immediate explanation” for the attack on Iranian soil. Due to Tuesday’s bombing, Islamabad had recalled its ambassador to Tehran for consultations. A military source told the agency that Pakistan’s armed forces were on “high alert” and any “risky action” by Iran would be responded to “with force.” reuters, This Thursday, the Air Force, Revolutionary Guards and Navy of Iran are carrying out a military exercise in which ten aircraft and dozens of drones will fire at strategic targets to test the country’s air defenses, Tasnim agency reports. The exercise is taking place over a large area in southern Iran, including areas near the Pakistani border.

Iran and Pakistan have maintained good diplomatic relations for most of their history and in fact, this week, the naval forces of both countries conducted joint military exercises. Additionally, in the past, they have carried out coordinated operations against the Baluch insurgency, a stateless population of 15 million inhabitants who speak languages ​​of the Iranian family and are divided between western Pakistan, southeastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. : All three have areas in the name of Balochistan. The area in which they live is for the most part dry and mountainous, but it is home to abundant mineral wealth.

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A Pakistani intelligence source gave this information to the agency reuters

that the attacks were carried out through aerial bombardment, and several sources claim that Pakistani fighter planes entered Iranian airspace. An account on the social network Balochistan Liberation Army (BLF) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), both groups – which demand independence for their region – are considered terrorists by Islamabad, and the latter is also on the list of terrorist organizations. Has been included. From America, European Union and China. Both groups have carried out attacks and attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.

Since the early 2000s, the Baluch insurgency in Iran has also intensified, but whereas groups active in Pakistan are more secular in ideas, and even Marxist in the case of the BLF, groups active in Iran, such as Jaish Al Adl (the organization carrying out the attacks in Pakistan), is of Salafist ideology and highlights their affiliation to Sunnism compared to Iran’s majority and official Shiism. For this reason, in addition to Iranian security forces, another target of their attacks has been Shia pilgrims. Tehran has launched a military campaign against these groups in its border provinces, but believes its main bases are in Pakistan, where it will receive help from other Islamist organizations. In fact, as Jaysh al Adl itself acknowledged in a statement, the facilities hit by Iranian missiles on Thursday were homes where the wives and children of the group’s fighters live.

Revolutionary Guard Colonel Hossein Ali Javadanfar was shot dead on a highway in Sistan and Baluchistan province on Wednesday, a day after an Iranian attack in Pakistan while returning from a mission. Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying it had also killed two of its guards.

Amid heightened regional tensions stemming from the Israeli attack on Gaza on the 3rd, Iran suffered its largest attack since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, killing nearly 90 people during celebrations marking the fourth anniversary of the death of commander . Revolutionary Guard Qasim Sulemani was assassinated by the US in Iraq. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack and its perpetrators are believed to have come from the jihadist group’s Afghan branch. However, the Iranian response has been to bomb targets of jihadist groups in Idlib (Syria), the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Jaish al Adl in Pakistan.

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