World News | Who is Jaish Al-Adl, the Sunni Group That Iran Targeted in an Airstrike on Pakistani Soil?

Islamabad, Jan 17 (AP) Iran's airstrike targeting an alleged outlawed separatist group in the Pakistani border province of Balochistan has jeopardized relations between the two neighbours and potentially raises tensions in a region already roiled by Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Here is a look at the Sunni group Jaish al-Adl, the target of Tuesday's airstrike.

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Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, surfaced in 2012. It mainly comprises members of the Sunni militant Jundullah group, which was weakened after Iran arrested most of its members.

The anti-Iranian group wants independence for Iran's eastern Sistan and Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan provinces. These goals make it a common target for both governments.

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Its members are from the ethnic Baloch community and live on both sides of the border. Pakistan insists the group has no organised presence in the province or elsewhere but acknowledges that some militants might be hiding in remote areas of Balochistan, which is the country's largest province by area and its most sensitive because of a long-running insurgency. Separatists and nationalists complain of discrimination and want a fairer share of their province's resources and wealth.

Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks.

Attacks on Iranian and Pakistani security forces have been on the rise in recent years and each side has blamed the other for turning a blind eye to the militants.

Pakistan says it has shared evidence with Iran about the presence of Baloch separatists in Iran, where they launch cross-border attacks on Pakistani troops.

Pakistan says it has arrested some members of Jaish al-Adl because they were responsible for multiple attacks in Iran. The group often targets Iranian security forces near the Pakistani border and militants enter Pakistan, where authorities have been trying to secure the border and set up more checkpoints.

But Baloch separatists keep targeting Pakistani security forces in the province, which has borders with Afghanistan and Iran. Pakistan says the separatists have Iranian backing. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)