On Thursday, Pakistan's airforce launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iran, which targeted militant positions that killed at least seven people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations.
The attacks in Sistan and Baluchestan province come after Iran attacked Pakistani territory on Tuesday.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry described their attack as a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes. The Foreign Ministry said that the morning's action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities.
The Foreign Ministry added that the attack manifests Pakistan's unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats.
Several rebel groups operate in Iran and Pakistan, including the Jaish al-Adl Sunni separatist group that Tehran targeted in its strike. They all have a shared goal of an independent Baluchistan for ethnic Baluch areas in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
Baluch nationalists have faced a low-level insurgency in Pakistan's Baluchistan province and Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan provinces for over two decades.
Ali Reza Marhamati, the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran, provided the death toll from Thursday's strike in a telephone interview. He noted that three women and four children died in the attack.
HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people, posted images online that showed the remains of the munitions used in the attack. It claimed that several homes had been struck in Saravan, a city in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Furthermore, videos showing a damaged mud-walled building and smoke rising over the strike also circulated online immediately.
Pakistan Recalls Ambassador Following Cross-Border Attack
Pakistan recalled its ambassador on Wednesday from Iran after an airspace violation by the Iranians.
On Tuesday, the airspace violation happened when Iranian missiles attacked two bases in Pakistan's territory. Iran believed that the bases belonged to the militant group Jaish al Adl.
Jaish al-Adl, also known as the "Army of Justice," is a Sunni militant organization founded in 2012 that primarily functions in Pakistan across the border and has claimed responsibility for bombings and took Iranian border police in the past.
Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister, claimed that Iran struck militants in drone and missile strikes and that no Pakistan citizen was targeted. Pakistan did not confirm the location of the target and the nature of the airspace violation.
Iran claimed that only terrorists were hit. Pakistan believes that their sovereignty was violated and that the action was unprovoked. The relationship between Islamabad and Tehran has been tenuous for years, but this is the highest-profile cross-border incident between the two countries in recent memory.
The strikes in Pakistan came a day after missile and drone strikes in Syria attacking the Islamic State. According to Pakistani officials, four missiles struck the Panjgur district, which is located near the border with Iran.
