Iran strikes bases of a dissident group in Pakistan; Islamabad warns of consequences
Iran on Tuesday launched missile and drone attacks against the Pakistan-based headquarters of a militant group opposed to Tehran, Iranian state-affiliated media reported.
The Tasnim news agency said two “important headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan were “destroyed.” The agency said the strikes were concentrated in an area in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province where “one of the largest headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl was situated.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the Iranian attacks inside Pakistani territory, describing them as an “unprovoked violation” of Pakistan’s airspace.
The Iranian strikes killed “two innocent children while injuring three girls,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences,” it warned, adding that “the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran.”
The attacks came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles into Iraq’s Kurdistan region at what it called an Israeli “spy headquarters,” and at alleged ISIS-linked targets in Syria.
Jaish al-Adl, formed in 2012 and labeled as a “terrorist” organization by Tehran, is a Sunni militant group that operates in Iran’s restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The group claims to advocate for greater rights and improved living conditions for ethnic Baluchis in Iran and has launched numerous attacks on Iranian security forces over the years.
Last month, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan that killed at least 11 Iranian policemen.
Sistan-Baluchistan has a history of clashes between Iran’s security forces and Sunni militants, as well as drug smugglers.
The province is one of Iran’s poorest regions and is mostly populated by Sunni ethnic Baluchis, a minority in predominantly Shia Iran.