Pakistani retaliatory strikes in Iran kill at least 9, raising tensions along border

By MUNIR AHMED and JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan launched airstrikes against alleged militant hideouts inside Iran on Thursday, killing at least nine people as it retaliated for a similar attack by Iran two days earlier and raised tensions between the neighbors at a time of escalating conflict in the region. 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 unprecedented cross-border strikes imperil relations between neighbors that have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in the Middle East, which is already unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.