Retaliatory Rocket Attacks and Roadside Bombing Rock Southwest Pakistan

Rockets fired by separatist insurgents in southwestern Pakistan have killed a police officer and wounded a dozen other people in apparent retaliation for strikes by Pakistan on what it said were insurgent hideouts in Iran earlier in January. Six insurgents were also killed in the ensuing shootout, as the outlawed Baluchistan Liberation Army quickly claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a separate incident, a roadside bomb targeting supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan killed three people and wounded five others in Baluchistan province. The bombing happened as Khan supporters on motorcycles were passing through a bazaar to attend a rally ahead of next month's election.

The attacks come after Pakistan's strikes on insurgent camps in Iran in response to an Iranian strike in Pakistan targeting a different Baluch militant group. The two countries have since vowed to work together against insurgents operating in their border areas. Baluchistan province and Iran's neighboring Sistan and Baluchestan province have faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades, leading to a persistent wave of violence in the region. Both countries share a lawless 900-kilometer border where smugglers and militants freely roam, posing ongoing security challenges for the region.