Pakistan fires retaliatory strike at Iran, 9killed

NT Bureau, Agencies

Islamabad/Tehran: Pakistan on Thursday used killer drones and rockets to carry out "precision military strikes" against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province, killing 9 people, a day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran following Iranian attacks on terror bases in Balochistan.

"This morning Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestano-Baluchistan province of Iran," Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday.

It said a number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation - codenamed "Marg Bar Sarmachar" (Death to Sarmachar). In Persian, "margbar” means "death to" while "Sarmachar" means guerrilla in the Baloch language.

The precision strikes were carried out using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and standoff weapons, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan military's media wing.

It said that "hideouts used by terrorist organisations namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) were successfully struck."

The two groups have carried out several deadly attacks in Pakistan in the past.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani condemned the attack and said that the Pakistani chargé d'affaires was summoned by the ministry to convey Tehran's protest to Islamabad and provide an explanation about the attack, Iran's state-run Press TV reported.

Quoting Deputy governor of the province Alireza Marhamati, official news agency 'IRNA' said that nine non-Iranian nationals - two men, three women and four children - were killed in the attack, which is being investigated by the Iranian security officials.

There was also an explosion near Saravan city, 347 km southeast of the provincial capital Zahedan, where there were no casualties, he added.

Who are Baloch militants targeted by Pak in Iran?

BLF independence goal: The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) aims for independence for Balochistan, a southwestern province in Pakistan.

Resource exploitation grievance: Ethnic Baloch militants oppose alleged exploitation by the central government of Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources, leading to decades-long conflict.

Anti-Chinese stance: The BLF also attacks Chinese projects, occasionally resulting in the killing of Chinese workers, despite Pakistan's assurances of project protection; the Pakistani state denies claims of unequal rights in Balochistan.