Security officials rescue 11 foreign hostages in Turbat, including Iranian soldiers
11 kidnapped foreigners including eight Iranians, two Tunisians and one Yemeni national.
Eleven foreigners were rescued in a raid in a neighbourhood of Turbat town, some 1,050 kilometres west of Quetta. PHOTO: FILE
QUETTA:
Officials on Saturday said they had rescued 11 kidnapped foreigners including eight Iranians, two Tunisians and one Yemeni national – in Turbat, Balochistan. Iranian security officials confirmed their kidnapped border guards were among those recovered.
Five Iranian soldiers who were abducted in early February and taken across the border into Pakistan, have been freed, the army's deputy chief of staff said Saturday.
"The five Iranian soldiers kidnapped and taken to Pakistan have been freed," said General Massoud Jazayeri in remarks carried by the Fars news agency.
Jazayeri gave no further details about the release of the soldiers.
They were kidnapped in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Balochestan, scene of unrest in recent years by the Jaish-ul Adl militant group.
It was earlier reported that security officials had denied the guards were among those freed.
A security official told AFP, “Eleven foreigners were rescued in a raid in a neighbourhood of Turbat town.”
The raid had been conducted in an attempt to rescue five Iranian border guards who were kidnapped on February 5 from Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, officials said.
Initially, the freed hostages were not thought to be the guards but believed to be connected to a drug cartels operating in the province and to have been held hostage by them, officials said.
Diplomatic ties between Iran and Pakistan touched a fresh low last week over fate of the kidnapped border guards, when the Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli reportedly threatened Pakistan that Tehran may send forces into Pakistan to free them.
Sistan-Balochestan province has been the scene of unrest in recent years.
An insurgent group calling itself Jaishul Adl, or “Army of Justice”, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The group had posted pictures on its Facebook page it said were of the soldiers, handcuffed and being held in an unknown location.
Officials on Saturday said they had rescued 11 kidnapped foreigners including eight Iranians, two Tunisians and one Yemeni national – in Turbat, Balochistan. Iranian security officials confirmed their kidnapped border guards were among those recovered.
Five Iranian soldiers who were abducted in early February and taken across the border into Pakistan, have been freed, the army's deputy chief of staff said Saturday.
"The five Iranian soldiers kidnapped and taken to Pakistan have been freed," said General Massoud Jazayeri in remarks carried by the Fars news agency.
Jazayeri gave no further details about the release of the soldiers.
They were kidnapped in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Balochestan, scene of unrest in recent years by the Jaish-ul Adl militant group.
It was earlier reported that security officials had denied the guards were among those freed.
A security official told AFP, “Eleven foreigners were rescued in a raid in a neighbourhood of Turbat town.”
The raid had been conducted in an attempt to rescue five Iranian border guards who were kidnapped on February 5 from Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, officials said.
Initially, the freed hostages were not thought to be the guards but believed to be connected to a drug cartels operating in the province and to have been held hostage by them, officials said.
Diplomatic ties between Iran and Pakistan touched a fresh low last week over fate of the kidnapped border guards, when the Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli reportedly threatened Pakistan that Tehran may send forces into Pakistan to free them.
Sistan-Balochestan province has been the scene of unrest in recent years.
An insurgent group calling itself Jaishul Adl, or “Army of Justice”, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The group had posted pictures on its Facebook page it said were of the soldiers, handcuffed and being held in an unknown location.