ISLAMABAD — Gunmen in Pakistan have killed four members of the minority Christian community in the country’s southwest, in an attack claimed by Islamic State terrorists.
Police said the victims were traveling in a rickshaw Monday when armed men on a motorcycle stopped them and opened fire. The attack took place in a Christian-majority neighborhood in the city of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province.
Police said the family members, which included three men and a woman, appear to have been targeted because of their faith.
The attack comes a day after Pakistan’s Christian community celebrated Easter.
IS took responsibility for the attack through its Amaq News agency.
The terrorist group said its regional affiliate, Khorasan Province, carried out the attack but provided no evidence, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist threats.
Baluchistan province has seen an increase in militant attacks in recent months.
Baluch separatist militants, the outlawed Pakistani Taliban and extremists linked to the Afghan Taliban allegedly operate out of the Pakistani province.
Pakistan authorities said IS loyalists are using bases in “ungoverned” areas of neighboring Afghanistan for attacks against Pakistan.
Islamic State also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a packed church in Quetta last December in which nine worshippers were killed, and dozens more were wounded. | via Voice of America
