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Today's Paper | May 06, 2024

Updated 16 Jul, 2017 01:52pm

2 Iranian civilians killed in alleged cross-border attack

Two Iranian civilians were killed in an alleged cross-border attack by suspected militants on Saturday, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

A statement on the Guards' Sepah News website said, "On Saturday evening, a terrorist team... fired (ammunition) from within Pakistani territory towards the Iranian border region of Saravan. Two local workers in the region were martyred in this terrorist attack,” read the statement.

The attack allegedly took place in the Sistan-Baluchistan province.

According to the statement, personnel of the Quds force, the Guards' foreign operations wing, killed one of the attackers and wounded two, while others reportedly fled back into Pakistani territory.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif calling for greater efforts to prevent militant attacks along the border.

In May, the head of the Iranian armed forces warned that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government does not confront "militants who carry out cross-border attacks" after ten Iranian border guards were killed in cross-border terrorists attacks.

Pakistan had denied any involvement in the attack and termed Tehran’s threat as being against the spirit of brotherly relations between Pakistan and Iran.

The border area has long been plagued by unrest from both drug smuggling gangs and suspected separatist militants.

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