ariel
09-22-2013, 12:27 PM
Suicide bomb attack on a church in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 60 people, police say.
A suicide bomb attack on a church in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 60 people, police said.
The attack occurred as parishioners left the building after attending Sunday mass, police said.
"After the service ended, people started to come out and the suicide bomber rushed towards them," said Najeeb Bogvi, a senior police officer in Peshawar.
A hospital spokesperson said that at least 120 people had been wounded in the attack.
Christians make up about four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million and tend to keep a low profile in a country where Islamist fighters frequently bomb targets they see as heretical, including Christians and Shias.
In 2009, 40 houses and a church were set ablaze by a mob of 1,000 Muslims in the town of Gojra in Punjab province. At least seven Christians were burnt to
death.
The attacks were triggered by reports of the desecration of the Holy Quran.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/09/201392275531903214.html
A suicide bomb attack on a church in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 60 people, police said.
The attack occurred as parishioners left the building after attending Sunday mass, police said.
"After the service ended, people started to come out and the suicide bomber rushed towards them," said Najeeb Bogvi, a senior police officer in Peshawar.
A hospital spokesperson said that at least 120 people had been wounded in the attack.
Christians make up about four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million and tend to keep a low profile in a country where Islamist fighters frequently bomb targets they see as heretical, including Christians and Shias.
In 2009, 40 houses and a church were set ablaze by a mob of 1,000 Muslims in the town of Gojra in Punjab province. At least seven Christians were burnt to
death.
The attacks were triggered by reports of the desecration of the Holy Quran.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/09/201392275531903214.html