Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar

Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar
Part of the 2024 Iran–Pakistan conflict and insurgency in Balochistan
Saravan
TypeAir strikes and missile strikes
Location
27°22′15″N 62°19′57″E / 27.37083°N 62.33250°E / 27.37083; 62.33250
Planned by Pakistan
Target Balochistan Liberation Army
Balochistan Liberation Front
Date18 January 2024
04:05 IRST (UTC+03:30)
Executed by Pakistan Armed Forces
Outcome
  • BLA militants killed in attack
  • Pakistan and Iran deescalate situation.
CasualtiesAt least 9 foreign nationals including unknown number of BLA militants killed.

On 18 January 2024, Pakistan launched a series of air and artillery strikes inside Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, targeting Baloch separatist groups, codenamed Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar (Urdu: آپریشن مرگ بر سرمچار, lit.'Death to Insurgents') by Pakistan. The attack was launched in response to the Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan's Balochistan province, one day earlier.

Iran stated that those killed were foreign nationals. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) confirmed that its members were killed in the Pakistani attack.

This attack marked the first known instance of a foreign country launching an attack on Iranian soil since the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988.