In a tragic incident on Saturday, unidentified gunmen took the lives of nine individuals in the southeastern region of Iran, adjacent to the border with Pakistan, according to media reports.
The semiofficial Mehr news agency released a report confirming that the shooting occurred in a residence near the town of Saravan, situated in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Notably, the victims were not of Iranian nationality. Despite the gravity of the situation, no official news outlet has officially reported on the incident, and as of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Baluch advocacy group, HalVash, shared distressing images online, purportedly depicting the bodies of the victims. Additionally, the group stated that three individuals sustained injuries in the attack and were identified as Pakistani nationals.
HalVash further revealed that all the victims were employees of an auto repair shop.
This recent tragedy follows retaliatory strikes launched by Pakistan in the same area just last week. The strikes, purportedly targeting militant hideouts, resulted in the loss of at least nine lives.
The escalation of tensions began with Iran’s attack on Pakistani soil earlier in the week, which tragically claimed the lives of two children in the southwestern Baluchistan province.
The tit-for-tat attacks seem to be directed at two Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals operating on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border.
Accusations have been exchanged between the two nations, each claiming that the other provides a safe haven for these groups within their respective territories.
In a significant development on Friday, media reports indicated that the ambassadors of both nations resumed their diplomatic activities in each other’s capitals.
These activities had been temporarily halted following the series of attacks that heightened tensions between Iran and Pakistan.
The situation remains delicate as both countries grapple with the complexities of the ongoing regional unrest.
