DUBAI, January 18. /TASS/. Tehran is demanding that Islamabad explain the missile strikes carried out by the Pakistani air force on targets within a borderline Iranian province, a spokesman for the Iranian security forces reported to the Press TV channel.

According to the senior official, "Iran demanded an immediate explanation from Pakistan about the missile strikes" it carried out on Thursday on border communities in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province.

Earlier, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry reported that the Pakistani military had conducted retaliatory strikes on what it called "terrorist hideouts" in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan. According to the regional authorities, three women and four children were killed in a Pakistani strike; the dead were not Iranian citizens.

On January 16, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that the Iranian air force had carried out a strike at two bases of the Jaysh al-Zolm terrorist group on Pakistani territory. According to the report, the strike involved drones and missiles. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, calling it a violation of Pakistan’s sovereign airspace, which may cause serious consequences. Islamabad reported that two children were killed as a result of the strike.