Iran entered Pakistan and killed terrorists
Iran’s state media Iran International English reported that Iranian military forces have entered Pakistani territory and killed senior commander of terrorist organization Jaish al-Adl, Ismail Shahbakhsh and some of his associates. Just a month after the two countries carried out airstrikes on each other, Iran’s military has attacked a terrorist group in an armed conflict and killed several terrorists.
Who are the terrorists of Jaish al-Adl?
Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, designated as a “terrorist” organization by Iran, is a Sunni militant group that operates in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, Al Arabiya News reported. Jaish al-Adl has carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces over the past few years. In December, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Baluchestan that left at least 11 police personnel dead, according to Al Arabiya News.
Iran and Pakistan had signed an agreement
Last month, Pakistan and Iran had mutually agreed to expand security cooperation, weeks after launching missile strikes against “terrorist units” in each other’s territories, The News International reported. The agreement was announced by Pakistan Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdullahian during a joint press conference at the Pakistan Foreign Office.
Jilani said both Iran and Pakistan could resolve the “misunderstanding” quite quickly. He said that both the countries had agreed to fight terrorism in their respective areas and address each other’s concerns but only after that Iran entered Pakistan and killed the terrorists.
Tension had increased between Iran and Pakistan
It is noteworthy that tension between the two countries had increased after Tehran and Islamabad launched missile attacks on each other targeting ‘terrorist units’. Iran launched missile and drone strikes into Pakistan late on the night of 16 January to destroy two “important headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl. Islamabad alleged that two children were killed and three girls were injured in the attacks, Al Arabiya News reported, citing Tasnim news agency.
Soon after, Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran on January 17 and announced that it would not allow the Iranian envoy, who was visiting his home country at that time, to return in protest against the “gross violation” of its sovereignty. The next day, on 18 January, Pakistan retaliated by launching attacks inside Iran. Islamabad said it targeted targets used by ‘terrorist terrorist organizations’, namely the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
However, the two countries later agreed on the return of the ambassadors of both the countries to their respective posts and also decided to work mutually to ‘de-escalate’ tensions, Geo News reported.
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