ISLAMABAD, Jan 17, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Pakistan said Wednesday that Iran
launched an airstrike on its territory that killed two children, after Tehran
launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called "anti-Iranian
terrorist groups".

Pakistan denounced the strike, near the nations' shared border late on
Tuesday, as "completely unacceptable", saying it was unprovoked.

Iran offered no official comment immediately but its state-run Nour News
agency said the attack destroyed the Pakistani headquarters of the jihadist
group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice).

Jaish al-Adl, which was formed in 2012, is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist
group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.

The strike came after Iran launched missile attacks on "spy headquarters" and
"terrorist" targets in Syria, and in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

The Iranian strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with
Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and pro-Palestinian Huthi rebels in
Yemen commercial attacking vessels in the Red Sea.

Pakistan's official statement did not say where the strike took place.

But Pakistani social media accounts said blasts occurred in Balochistan
province, where the two countries share a sparsely populated border of nearly
1,000 kilometres (620 miles).

"This violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can
have serious consequences," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the strike late Tuesday "resulted in death of two innocent children
while injuring three girls".

Pakistan said it summoned Tehran's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the
"unprovoked violation of its airspace".

Iran's Nour News agency posted on X: "Minutes ago, two important headquarters
of the so called Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group was targeted in Pakistan".

"These headquarters were destroyed by rockets and drones."

The group claimed responsibility for an attack in December on a police
station in Rask that killed at least 11 Iranian police officers.

The United States has also labelled Jaish al-Adl a terrorist organisation,
saying the group "primarily targets Iranian security personnel" but also
government officials and civilians with assassinations, kidnappings, and
suicide bombings.

- 'Illegal act' -

Tehran and Islamabad frequently accuse each other of allowing militants to
operate from the other's territory to launch attacks, but it is rare that
official forces on either side engage.

"It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the
existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,"
Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

"Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in
the region that requires coordinated action.

"Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations
and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence."

Iraq recalled its ambassador from Iran on Tuesday, condemning as a "clear act
of aggression" deadly missile strikes by its ally on its autonomous Kurdish
region.

Four people were killed and six others wounded in the attack in Iraq,
according to the Kurdistan security council.

Iraq challenged Iran's claim that the strikes targeted Israel's intelligence
services in response to recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian and pro-
Iranian commanders.

It said it would lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council over the
Iranian "attack on its sovereignty".

Iran defended its missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, saying they were a
"targeted operation" and "just punishment" against those who breach the
Islamic republic's security.

"The Islamic republic, with its high intelligence capability, in a precise
and targeted operation identified the criminals' headquarters and hit it with
precision weapons," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed the "Zionist regime's spy
headquarters in the Kurdistan region of Iraq".

Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign
policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Islamic republic supports Palestinian militant group Hamas and hailed its
deadly October 7 attacks on Israel as a "success" while denying any direct
involvement.

Regional tensions have spiked since, drawing in Iran-backed armed groups in
Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.