Aerial footage shows moment RAF Typhoon strikes Yemen military targetFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsPakistan has vowed to respond to neighboring Iran after they hit a civilian region across the border in an unannounced attack.Iran launched airstrikes on Tuesday that Tehran claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group.In state media reports, which were later withdrawn without explanation, Iran said its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, or the “Army of Justice”. The group, which seeks an independent Baluchistan and has spread across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, acknowledged the assault in a statement shared online.Islamabad, which has frosty relationships with Tehran, angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children.Jan Achakzai, a spokesperson for the Baluchistan province, where the strike hit, also condemned the attack, and vowed to react.“Pakistan has always sought cooperation from all the countries of the region — including Iran — to combat terrorism,” he said. “This is unacceptable and Pakistan has a right to respond to any aggression committed against its sovereignty.”The attack threatens to escalate tensions in a region that has become increasingly unstable after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October.Show latest update
1705501819Mapped: How the US and UK attacks on Houthi rebels took place and what weapons were used?Huge explosions were seen in Yemeni cities including Sana’a and Hodeidah in the early hours of 12 January, with the US military saying 60 strikes were launched against 16 sites linked to the Houthis’ military operations.Below, The Independent looks at how the attacks unfolded and what weapons were used in the strikes.Tom Watling17 January 2024 14:301705500019Here are some more details on the Iran strikes on Pakistan Officials in Pakistan‘s southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Iran, have said that four missiles had hit the Panjgur district close to the Iranian border on Tuesday. “Four missiles were fired in the village of Koh-i-Sabaz which is around 50 km inside Pakistan soil,” a senior official of the Panjgur administration told Reuters.“A mosque and three houses were damaged in the attack,” another official said, adding that two young girls had been killed and three other family members injured.Tom Watling17 January 2024 14:001705498219Two Navy SEALs lost at sea were on mission targeting Houthi weapons shipment, says PentagonTwo US Navy SEALs were lost at sea on a mission targeting Iranian weapons deliveries to Houthis in Yemen, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.The night-time mission ended with the seizure of a small sailing boat that was transporting “advanced lethal aid” to the Yemeni rebel group as part of its “campaign of attacks against international merchant shipping,” the Pentagon said in a statement.The SEALs had been reported missing in the days following the mission, which took place on 11 January off the coast of Somalia, but its purpose had not been revealed. The two SEALs were still lost at sea as of Tuesday morning.Tom Watling17 January 2024 13:301705495519US national security adviser says stopping Houthi Red Sea attacks is an ‘all hands on deck’ problemA senior White House official said Tuesday that addressing the ongoing threat by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Red Sea is an “all hands on deck” problem that the U.S. and allies must address together to minimize impact on the global economy.“How long this goes on and how bad it gets comes down not just to the decisions of the countries in the coalition that took strikes last week,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Tom Watling17 January 2024 12:451705492819Pope condemns Iran strike on Iraq, appeals against escalationPope Francis has condemned the Iranian missile attack on the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, and urged all parties to avoid an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East.The strike has deepened worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, with Iran’s allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.“I express my closeness and solidarity with the victims, all civilians, of the missile attack that hit an urban area of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan,” Francis said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.“Good relations between neighbours are not built with similar actions, but with dialogue and collaboration. I ask everyone to avoid any step that fuels tension in the Middle East and other war scenarios,” he added.Francis called for prayers for the “many victims of war”, mentioning specifically Ukraine, Gaza and other Palestinian territory, and Israel. More
