Pakistan Attacks Iran After Missile Strike, Killing Several Civilians
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Nuclear-armed Pakistan and increasingly nuclear-capable Iran were dangerously moving toward all-out war Thursday as Pakistan responded to an Iranian missile attack killing at least nine people, several sources said.
Pakistan claimed its military hit “terrorist hideouts” comprised of separatist Baloch militants in Iran’s south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
However, Iran said missiles hit a village in the area, which borders Pakistan, causing several civilian deaths, including three women, two men, and four children who were not Iranian.
Pakistan’s salvo of retaliatory drones and rockets across the Iranian border followed attacks on their soil two days ago.
Iran said Tuesday its rockets hit targets inside Pakistan that it alleged were “bases” of the Jaish al Adl (JAA), or “army of justice,” an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim militia linked to attacks inside Iran.
However, Pakistan said civilians were hit and two children were killed in the missile strike and warned “of consequences” for which “Tehran would be responsible.”
As military tensions rose, Iranian state media reported Thursday that Tehran had summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires over the strikes.
PAKISTAN RECALLS AMBASSADOR
Pakistan had earlier recalled its ambassador and blocked the Iranian envoy from returning.
The neighbors have had rocky ties in the past, but observers said the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years.
Thursday’s attacks came amid growing worries about growing instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7.
In signs the world community fears a broader armed conflict, China, Turkey, and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have all called for restraint and dialogue.
Iran’s foreign ministry said it was committed to good neighborly relations with Pakistan but hastened to add that Islamabad should prevent “bases and armed terrorist groups” on its soil.
The latest military standoff was closely monitored by the United States and its allies who battle Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, launching attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
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