Pakistan accused Iran on Wednesday January 17 of an airstrike that killed two children on its territory, after similar raids carried out in Iraq and Syria by Tehran against what Iran described as ” anti-Iranian terrorist groups “.
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Islamabad ruled “ totally unacceptable » and unjustified the Iranian strike, which occurred near the border shared by the two countries. Iranian authorities did not immediately comment. But, according to the Iranian state agency Nour News, the attack led to the destruction of the headquarters in Pakistan of the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (“Army of Justice” in Arabic). This group, formed in 2012, is considered a terrorist group by Tehran and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.
“ Unacceptable »
“ This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and may have serious consequences. “, warned the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. Islamabad’s reaction did not specify where the Iranian strike took place. According to Pakistani media, it occurred near Panjgur, in the southwest of Balochistan province (west), where the two countries share a border of a thousand kilometers. A few hours before this, interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar met the head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on the sidelines of the Davos Forum (Switzerland).
The strike on Pakistani territory on Tuesday evening “ caused the death of two innocent children and injured three little girls “, further indicated the official press release. Tehran and Islamabad frequently accuse each other of allowing rebel groups to operate from each other’s territory to launch attacks, but it is rare for official forces from either country to engage. “ What is all the more worrying is that this illegal act took place despite the existence of several channels of communication between the Pakistan and Iran », Also declared Pakistani diplomacy.
“ Terrorists »
Yesterday, Tuesday January 16, Iran launched missile attacks on what it described as the headquarters of “ spies » and targets « terrorists » in Syria and autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. These Iranian strikes come at a time when the Middle East is shaken by the war between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip and attacks by pro-Iranian Houthi rebels from Yemen against commercial ships in the Red Sea.
(With AFP)
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