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Across Baluchistan, who are the groups targeted by Iran, Pakistan?

The cross-border strikes have raised questions about the separatist groups operating in the border area between Iran and Pakistan.

A Baloch militant (L) hands over his gun and surrenders to Baluchistan province Chief Minister Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri (R) in Quetta on April 21, 2017. Around 500 Baloch rebel militants on April 21 surrendered to Pakistan's government as Islamabad pursues its development agenda linked to the ambitious China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the southwest province. / AFP PHOTO / BANARAS KHAN (Photo credit should read BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A Baloch militant (L) hands over his gun and surrenders to Baluchistan province Chief Minister Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri (R) in Quetta on April 21, 2017. — BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan and Iran carried out tit-for-tat airstrikes his week, targeting militant groups nestled in the Baluchistan region and marking the worst escalation between them in decades. 

On Thursday, Pakistan’s army said it launched precision strikes against bases used by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) inside Iranian territory.

The Pakistani attack came only two days after Iran conducted similar strikes against positions belonging to Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni armed group, in the Pakistani border province of Baluchistan.

Who are the Baloch militants?

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