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Deadly attack on Methodist church in Pakistan | Deadly attack on Methodist church in Pakistan |
(35 minutes later) | |
A suicide bomb and gun attack on a Methodist church in Pakistan has killed at least eight people, officials say. | A suicide bomb and gun attack on a Methodist church in Pakistan has killed at least eight people, officials say. |
Militants stormed the church, which was packed with worshippers at the time, in the city of Quetta, some 65km (40 miles) from the Afghan border. | Militants stormed the church, which was packed with worshippers at the time, in the city of Quetta, some 65km (40 miles) from the Afghan border. |
The Islamic State group has said it carried out the attack. | |
Two suicide bombers were stopped at the entrance to the church, Sarfraz Bugti, the Balochistan region's home minister, said. | Two suicide bombers were stopped at the entrance to the church, Sarfraz Bugti, the Balochistan region's home minister, said. |
Had the men got any further, there could have been hundreds of casualties, he added. | Had the men got any further, there could have been hundreds of casualties, he added. |
One of the men detonated his bomb vest and the other was stopped in a gunfight with police. | One of the men detonated his bomb vest and the other was stopped in a gunfight with police. |
Two more attackers fled and a search operation is under way, according to reports. | Two more attackers fled and a search operation is under way, according to reports. |
Dozens of people are known to have been wounded in the attack, which took place during a Sunday service at Bethel Memorial Methodist Church. | Dozens of people are known to have been wounded in the attack, which took place during a Sunday service at Bethel Memorial Methodist Church. |
A witness told the BBC that several children attending Sunday school had taken shelter while firing continued around them. | A witness told the BBC that several children attending Sunday school had taken shelter while firing continued around them. |
A spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry, Dr Mohammed Faisal, condemned the attack. | A spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry, Dr Mohammed Faisal, condemned the attack. |
Attacks in the mainly Sunni Muslim region are not uncommon, often targeting the Hazara Shia Muslim community in suicide bombings. | Attacks in the mainly Sunni Muslim region are not uncommon, often targeting the Hazara Shia Muslim community in suicide bombings. |
But Pakistan's Christian minority has also frequently been the subject of militant attacks, and guards had been placed near the church in Quetta as a result. | But Pakistan's Christian minority has also frequently been the subject of militant attacks, and guards had been placed near the church in Quetta as a result. |