Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes on Iran after Tehran attack, killing at least 7 people

By MUNIR AHMED and JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s air force has launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iran allegedly targeting militant positions. The attack early Thursday killed at least seven people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations. The strikes in Sistan and Baluchestan province follow Iran’s attack Tuesday on Pakistani soil that killed two children in the southwestern Baluchistan province. The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip