7 foreign nationals killed in Pakistan's missile strike on Iranian village: official

TEHRAN -- Pakistan carried out a missile strike on a border village in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan on Thursday morning, killing seven foreign nationals, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

IRNA cited Alireza Marhamati, provincial deputy governor for security and law enforcement, in its report.

Marhamati said the victims were three female foreign citizens and four children, adding that several blasts had been heard near Saravan County at 4:05 am local time (0035 GMT) and that investigations showed that Pakistan had targeted one of Iran's border villages in a missile strike.

In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the Pakistani strike, saying that the Iranian Foreign Ministry had summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in Tehran and asked for the Pakistani government's explanation regarding the incident.

The Pakistani strikes came after Iran's attack on Tuesday which killed two children and injured another three in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Pakistan condemned "Iran's violation of its airspace" and recalled its ambassador from Iran.

The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the attack in a statement on Thursday, saying the country "undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran."

"A number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation," it said.

"Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The sole objective of today's act was in pursuit of Pakistan's own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised," the statement said, adding that "Iran is a brotherly country and the people of Pakistan have great respect and affection for the Iranian people."