At least two people were killed after Iranian forces launched airstrikes in Pakistan, targeting what they said were bases of the Sunni separatist group, Jaish al Adl. However, Islamabad claimed that the fatalities were children and denounced the assault as a “flagrant violation” of its airspace. Tehran thus further raises tensions in the Middle East after last Monday night it attacked “targets” of Israel in Iraq and the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria, in response to recent attacks in which members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard died. and the Axis of Resistance.
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Iran marks another flashpoint in the Middle East. On the night of Tuesday, January 16, local time, the Revolutionary Guard of the Islamic Republic launched airstrikes on Pakistan that targeted, it claimed, bases of the Sunni separatist group, Jaish al-Adl, considered “terrorist” by Tehran.
At least two children died after six drones carrying bombs and several rockets reached the homes where the minors and wives of their combatants were, a statement from the attacked movement said.
The information about the fatalities was corroborated by Pakistani authorities, who warned Iran of “serious consequences” after describing these actions as “completely unacceptable” and a “flagrant violation” of its airspace.
Pakistan has said two children were killed and three others injured after neighboring Iran launched air attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
Pakistan summoned Tehran's top diplomat in Islamabad over the incident. pic.twitter.com/HJtUEZJxsb
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 17, 2024
Although the statement from the Pakistani authorities does not mention the location of the attack, Iranian state media reported that the bases attacked were in the province of Balochistan, in the southwest of Pakistan, whose independence is claimed by the Sunni movement.
“These bases were hit and destroyed by missiles and drones,” Iranian state media reported without providing further details.
Pakistan takes action and the Arab League calls an emergency meeting
Iran continues to extend its attacks throughout the region and, after what occurred on Tuesday night, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdrew its ambassador from Tehran.
In addition, Pakistan announced that it prohibits the return to its country of the Iranian ambassador, who is visiting the capital of the Islamic Republic.
“The responsibility for the consequences will fall directly on Iran (…) This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has no justification. We have informed Iran that Pakistan has decided to recall our ambassador in Iran,” stressed the spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. , Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch, in a note.
Pakistan's statement adds that the violent events occurred despite the fact that there are several channels of communication between its government and Iran.
Amid the escalation of violence, members of the Arab League will hold an emergency meeting, which will discuss the Iranian attack on Iraq, said the Iraqi state news agency, which cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although it did not specify the date or time. of the meeting.
Why is Iran attacking the Jaish al-Adl group?
Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni militant group that opposes the Shiite regime in Tehran. The movement is also supported by Israel, one of the Islamic Republic's greatest adversaries.
The Sunni movement – which operates on the porous border between Iran and Pakistan – has previously carried out attacks against Iranian security forces.
But this is the latest sign of a wave of violence sweeping the Middle East. On the night of Monday, January 15, Iranian forces attacked what they identified as an Israeli spy headquarters, near the United States consulate in the city of Erbil, in northern Iraq. There, at least four people died and Iraqi authorities assured that those who lost their lives were civilians.
On that same day, Tehran troops launched attacks against “targets” of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, in Syria. According to the Islamic Republic, it was “revenge” for the recent deaths of commanders of the Guard and the Axis of Resistance, to which the Shiite group Hezbollah belongs, after Israeli assaults and members of the extremist group.
Last month, three members of the Guard in Syria, including a senior commander of that force who had served as a military advisor there, were killed by an Israeli airstrike, Tehran said.
And on January 3, at least 85 people were killed and 200 injured in a bomb attack during the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, which took place in Kerman, southern Iran. The worst attack in the history of that country, which was claimed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
These attacks also come at a time of acute tensions in the region over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli Army, backed by the United States, and the Hamas group, backed by Iran and Hezbollah.
Since the ongoing flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Yemen's Houthi rebels, also backed by Iran, have attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea, they claim, linked to the Jewish-majority country or its ports. Offensives in support of the group that controls Gaza and that have threatened international trade.
The turbulent situation in the region threatens to escalate even further.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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