Pakistan has accused Iran of violating its airspace and causing the deaths of two children, just hours after Iran announced it had launched missile strikes on an extremist group operating in the border region of the two nations.
Officials in Pakistan said Iran’s actions were “completely unacceptable” and could result in “serious consequences” in a statement released early Wednesday, Reuters reported.
“It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” the statement added, noting three girls were also injured in the attack.
The statement made no mention of exactly where the incident took place or the nature of the incursion but said it had filed a protest with Tehran and summoned the head of the Iranian embassy in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pakistan accused Iran of violating its airspace with a recent missile strike. via REUTERSOn Tuesday, Iranian state media said its military had launched strikes at two bases belonging to Jaish al Adl, an ethnic militant group opposed to both Iranian and Pakistani rule that operates on both sides of the border shared by the two countries.
“These bases were hit and destroyed by missiles and drones,” Iranian state media said, while another outlet, Nournews, reported the strikes took place in the Balochistan province in southwest Pakistan bordering Iran.
Operating primarily in southeastern Iran, Jaish al Adl is seeking independence for the region and has a history of targeting Iranian soldiers and police with lethal effect.
Iran said missiles targeted two bases of the militant group Jaish al Adl on Tuesday. via REUTERSThe strikes come on the heels of a number of missile attacks launched by Iran at other militant groups in the region, including “anti-Iranian terror groups” in Iraq and “terrorist operations” in Syria, according to Tehran.
A prominent businessman and his family were killed during the strike in Iraq, the regional Kurdish government said, with 10 missiles raining down near the US Consulate in the area.
US officials said the attacks did not appear to have targeted Americans, but one defense official who asked to remain anonymous characterized them as “reckless and imprecise.”
This week’s strikes have heightened fears that the war between the Iran-backed Hamas and Israel could spill into a broader regional conflict, which has been further fueled by American and allied rockets finally hitting back at similarly Iran-backed Houthi extremists who have been harassing shipping in the Red Sea from bases in Yemen.
With Post wires
