Pakistan retaliates with air strikes against targets in Iran

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Pakistan on Thursday launched drone and rocket strikes on what it called separatist militant targets in southeastern Iran. Local Iranian officials said that the strike killed at least nine people. The strike targeted militants who are part of the separatist Baluch ethnic group, according to the Pakistani military. The group has operated along the Pakistan-Iran border for more than two decades. Iran on Thursday condemned the attack while saying it “adheres to the policy of good neighborliness and brotherhood between the two nations.”

What led up to the strike? Iran on Tuesday launched air strikes against targets in southwest Pakistan that it said were bases of a militant Sunni Muslim separatist group. Officials in Pakistan said the strikes killed two children. Pakistan called the attack a violation of its sovereignty and withdrew its ambassador to Tehran.

Dig deeper: Read A.S. Ibrahim’s column in WORLD Opinions giving background on the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.