Pakistani Missiles Hit Militant Groups In Iran: Nine People Killed

Pakistani military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/SyedNaqvi90)

Pakistan launched an attack on the position of separatist militant groups within Iran on Thursday, two days after Tehran launched an attack on militant groups in Pakistan.

Iranian media said several missiles targeted Bloch separatist militants in a village in Sistan-Baluchestan Province bordering Pakistan, killing at least nine people.

"A number of terrorists were killed in intelligence-based operations," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said, describing the operation as "a series of precision military attacks that are highly coordinated and targeted specifically at terrorist hiding places".

"The Pakistani fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the ministry added in a statement.

"The only goal of today's action is to achieve Pakistan's own national security and interests, which is the most important and cannot be compromised," the ministry said.

A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters the military was on high alert and would face any "retaliation" from Iran by force.

Separately, Iran strongly condemned the attack, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Miki, said, adding Pakistan's attorney, Tehran's most senior diplomat, had been called to provide an explanation.

Meanwhile, Pakistani intelligence sources told Reuters the attack was carried out by military aircraft.

"Our troops have carried out attacks to target Bloch militants in Iran," said an official in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

"The militants targeted are members of the BLF," he added, referring to the Bloch Liberation Front, which seeks independence for the province of Blochistan in Pakistan.

Earlier, Iran on Tuesday said it had attacked a militant base linked to Israel in Pakistan. The two target groups are ethnic Bloch, but it is unclear if they are working together.

Pakistan said civilians were attacked and two children were killed, warning of the consequences Tehran would be responsible for.

In protest against what he called a "discrete violation" of his sovereignty, Islamabad withdrew its ambassador from Iran on Wednesday.

It is known that the two targeted militant groups operate in an area that includes Blochistan Province in southwest Pakistan and Sistan-Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. Both were turbulent, rich in minerals and mostly underdeveloped.

The BLF, which is being targeted by Islamabad in Iran, launched an armed uprising against Pakistan. Meanwhile, Jaish al Adl (JAA), who was targeted by Iran, is also a ethnic militant group.

These two neighboring countries have had difficult relationships in the past, but the attack was the most prominent cross-border attack in recent years, amid growing concerns about instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.