Iran launches drone and missile strikes on Pakistani targets

DW:  On Tuesday, January 16, Iran launched drone and missile attacks on neighboring Pakistan. As Iranian state media said, as a result, two headquarters of the paramilitary Sunni group Jaysh al-Adl, which opposes Iran, were hit.

Pakistani authorities confirmed the "illegal and unprovoked attack" on the country's territory, adding that two children were killed and three others were wounded. Official reports do not say where exactly this happened, but many messages appeared on Pakistani social networks about explosions in the Balochistan province bordering Iran. The AP agency, citing two Pakistani officials, reports that a mosque was damaged in Balochistan, 50 km from the Iranian border.

Pakistani authorities stressed that such a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is unacceptable and could have serious consequences.” Tehran did not react to this threat.

Jaysh al-Adl, founded in 2012, says it is fighting for the religious rights of fellow Sunnis in the Iranian border province of Sistan and Baluchistan. The state religion in Iran is another branch of Islam, Shiism. Jaysh al-Adl militants have repeatedly made forays into Iranian territory.