ISIS claims responsibility for the suicide attack on Pakistan Church in Southwestern Pakistan

At least eight people were killed and 44 injured in a blast at a church in Southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, while the ISIS group claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

The blast took place when people were attending Sunday services at a church in Quetta, the capital of the Southwestern Balochistan province, local Geo News reported.

Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister for Baluchistan province, said hundreds of worshippers were attending services at the church ahead of Christmas, adding that one attacker was killed at the entrance to the church while the other set off his payload inside.

Bugti told Geo News that, according to initial reports, two militants stormed the church, and one blew himself up at the entrance, while the other was shot dead by security forces.

Security guards at the church exchanged fire with the attackers before they could enter the main perimeter, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah said, adding that the church had guards because Christian places of worship are often targeted by militant extremist groups.

A female eyewitness told reporters that the blast occurred when people were in services. The attack comes as Pakistan’s tiny Christian community is preparing to celebrate Christmas.

In a statement, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi strongly condemned the attack, decrying how terrorists always target innocents.

“Terrorists have no religion, we will not allow them to disturb our peace and values, and they will be dealt with by the full might of the state,” Abbasi said in a statement issued by his office.

The premier also expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the attack.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Extremist militants have on numerous occasions in the past targeted Pakistani minorities, including Shia Muslims and Christians.

In September 2013, in Peshawar, Northwest Pakistan, a twin suicide bomb attack at All Saints Church killed some 127 people and injured over 250, in the deadliest attack on Pakistan’s Christian community in the nation’s history.

Source: Farsnews