Baloch separatists announce war on Pakistan
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Militants from Baloch Liberation Army and United Baloch Army | photo: AFP
Pakistan launched airstrikes against Baloch separatist forces on Iranian soil on Thursday, escalating regional tensions dramatically. The strikes, which killed nine people, were in reaction to Iran's earlier missile attack on militant facilities in Pakistan's Balochistan, which Tehran claimed housed anti-Iranian fighters.
In a statement, the Balochistan Liberation Army, a separatist group active in the region since 2000, claimed that Pakistani strikes in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province targeted and killed its people, India Today reported.
“Pakistan will have to pay a price for it,” the group warned. “Now the Baloch Liberation Army will not remain silent. We will avenge it and we announce war on the state of Pakistan.”
On Tuesday, January 16, Iranian missiles bombarded Sunni separatist group Jaish al-Adl bases in Pakistan, which are accused of operating from there and assaulting Iranian security troops.
Two days later, the Pakistan Air Force launched retaliatory bombings within Iran, targeting the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Balochistan Liberation Army.