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Pakistani Christians Killed In Drive-By Shooting


Security personnel evacuate a Methodist church after a suicide bomber attack in Quetta in December 2017.
Security personnel evacuate a Methodist church after a suicide bomber attack in Quetta in December 2017.

Pakistani officials say two Christians have been killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in the country’s southwest.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack on April 15 outside a church in the city of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan Province.

Local police official Ataullah Shah said churchgoers were on their way home when men on a motorcycle opened fire on the group.

Shah said eight Christians were also wounded and taken to hospital.

The shooting took place in the Christian-dominated Esa Nagri neighborhood of Quetta, where hundreds gathered to protest the killings late on April 15.

The shooting came just weeks after four Christians were shot dead in the city, an attack also claimed by IS militants.

Militants have in the past attacked Christians and other religious minorities, including Shi'ite Muslims, in Balochistan.

In December, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Quetta church, which was packed with worshippers, killing nine people and wounding over a dozen.

Christians make up less than 2 percent of Muslim-majority Pakistan's 200 million people, and have long faced discrimination and violence.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
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