The Pakistani government said on Sunday that at least eight of its citizens were killed in southeastern Iran.
In a statement released by the government, the people, who have yet to be identified, were killed in the Mehrestan County of Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders Pakistan.
According to the statement, the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran and Consulate in Zahidan are working with Iranian authorities to investigate the killings and repatriate the victims’ remains.
It also said that further details on the identification of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths will be shared once available.
Tehran last year said it struck militants from the Jaish al Adl (JAA) group in Pakistan, while Islamabad said it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army in Iran.
It was reported that the militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Both regions are reportedly restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped.
Last year’s tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries are said to be the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years.
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