9 die, 44 hurt in suicide strike on Quetta church
ISIS claims attack, but offers no evidence
Two suicide bombers attacked a packed church during a Sunday service in the restive Pakistani city of Quetta, killing nine people and injuring 44 others in a targeted assault on the minority Christian community ahead of Christmas in the Muslim nation.
The Islamic State ( ISIS) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s Amaq News Agency posted a statement online, saying attackers had stormed the church in Quetta — the capital of Balochistan province. But the terror group provided no evidence for the claim.
Balochistan home minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that at least two suicide bombers were involved in the attack on the Bethel Memorial Church on Zarghoon road in Quetta.
“One attacker was killed at the gate by police after an intense gunfight while the other wearing suicide vest entered the church and detonated his explosives,” he said.
Mr Bugti said that the terrorists had weapons and it seems they wanted to take hostages inside the church.
“The security forces foiled their plan,” he added.
Balochistan’s inspectorgeneral Moazzam Ansari said there were 400 worshippers inside the church when it was attacked.
A suicide bomb attack on a Pakistan church claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group killed at least nine people and wounded 44 during a service on Sunday, just over a week before Christmas.
Two women were among the dead at a Methodist church in the restive southwestern city of Quetta in Balochistan province, said provincial home secretary Akbar Harifal.
Several of the wounded were in serious condition, police added.
Officials said police intercepted and shot dead one attacker outside the church before he could detonate his bomb. But the second managed to reach the church’s main door, where he blew himself up.
“Police were quick to react and stop the attackers from entering into the main hall,” provincial police chief Moazzam Jah told AFP.
Each attacker was carrying 15 kilograms ( 33 pounds) of explosive plus grenades, said civil defence official Aslam Tareen.
ISIS, in a brief statement on its Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility.
Balochistan provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti said around 250 people normally attend the church on Sundays, but the congregation had swelled to around 400 because it was close to Christmas.
“God forbid, if the terrorists had succeeded in their plans more than 400 precious lives would have been at stake,” tweeted the home minister.
An AFP reporter at the scene saw shattered pews, shoes and broken musical instruments littered across the blood- smeared floor of the church.
Liaqat Masih, a member of the congregation, said he was heartbroken by the violence and feared for his life as the firefight erupted between one attacker and police, who were later reinforced by paramilitaries and regular troops.
“I am devastated to see many of our dear ones dead and wounded on Sunday here in front me,” said Masih, 35.
Hours after the attack reports surfaced that a total of four attackers had been involved, with two escaping.
Senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema said investigators were analysing CCTV footage to check the claim and had launched a search for any further suspects.
Christians make up an estimated 1.6 percent of Pakistan’s 200 million people and have long faced discrimination — sidelined into lowly paid jobs and sometimes the target of trumped- up blasphemy charges.
Along with other religious minorities, the community has also been hit by Islamic militants over the years.
Following the latest attack, dozens of Christians protested in the northwestern city of Peshawar and called on officials to protect religious minorities.
In 2013 82 people were killed when suicide bombers targeted a church in the city.
And last year Lahore suffered one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks during the Easter season -- a suicide bomb in a park that killed more than 70 people including many children.
The bombing was later claimed by the Jamaat ul Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban.