Pakistani gunmen kill four Christians in Quetta

Volunteers carry the body of a shooting attack victim, at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, April 2, 2018. (Photo Courtesy of AP)

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

Popular

ASEAN, China sign free trade upgrade

By Brian Campued President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday joined fellow leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the signing of...

PBBM notes maritime cooperation as key for regional peace, stability

By Brian Campued Citing the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel as well as the ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the...

PBBM champions PH WPS claims in talks with U.S., India at 47th ASEAN Summit

By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet Cognizant of China’s continuing aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. raised such developments in these...

PBBM ready to disclose SALN, reaffirms commitment towards transparency

By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet Cognizant with his earlier directive calling for a “lifestyle check” on government officials as part of a renewed call towards transparency...