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Pakistan church attack kills five
Compiled from Times wires ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A grenade attack on a Protestant church packed with Sunday worshipers killed five people -- including an American woman and her daughter -- in an assault that appeared to be clearly aimed at Pakistan's foreign community. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least one young man in black -- some witnesses said two -- ran through the center of the church hurling grenades. But suspicion fell on Islamic extremists. The U.S. Embassy identified the dead Americans as Barbara Green and her daughter, Kristen Wormsley, 17, a senior at the American School in Islamabad. Green and her husband, Milton, worked at the U.S. Embassy -- she in administration and he in the computer division. Milton Green and the couple's young son were injured but not seriously, police said. The State Department did not release the family's hometown. The other dead included one Afghan, one Pakistani and one unidentified -- maybe the assailant, Pakistani officials said. Ten Americans were among the 45 people injured, mostly foreigners. Six or seven people were in serious condition, District Judge Tariq Mehmood Khan said. President Bush said that he was outraged and that the deaths were "acts of murder that cannot be tolerated by any person of conscience nor justified by any cause." Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf condemned the attack as a "ghastly act of terrorism" and pledged to find those responsible. On Friday, police in Karachi advised the American Embassy that "elements connected to the kidnapping and murder of (Wall Street Journal correspondent) Daniel Pearl are considering kidnapping more American citizens," according to a public warning issued by the embassy. The embassy urged Americans to increase their security and to travel in groups. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the spouses and children of American diplomats had been sent home. They had only been allowed to return six weeks ago. Green had left with her children and had returned last month. After Sunday's attack, which occurred at 10:50 a.m. during a sermon before 60 to 70 worshipers, the embassy urged Americans to stay in their homes, and to avoid public places if they did go out. The Protestant International Church, about 400 yards from the U.S. Embassy, is in the guarded diplomatic quarter in the heart of Pakistan's capital and primarily serves the foreign community. It is considered one of the most secure areas of the city. The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are Muslim, and few Pakistani Christians live in Islamabad. Survivors spoke of deafening blasts, choking smoke and pandemonium. They said terrified parents screamed for their children and stunned worshipers dived beneath chairs and behind cement pillars. Parishioners sobbed and called out "Brother! Brother!" as they tried to find friends and family amid the chaos. Parents groped to find their way downstairs, where their children were attending Sunday school. Other parishioners feared touching the wounded, because unexploded grenades lay near their bodies. Witnesses gave conflicting reports on the number of attackers. Late Sunday, senior police superintendent Nasir Khan Durrani said authorities believed only one attacker was involved. "This is part of a continuing effort by dissident extremist terrorists to try to destabilize President Musharraf's government and the support which he enjoys from around the world, including the Western nations," Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, told the British Broadcasting Corp. On Jan. 12, Musharraf announced a major crackdown on Islamic fundamentalists -- who had been supported for years by Pakistani governments -- and banned five extremist movements. More than 2,000 people were arrested, although many have since been released. It had been long expected that religious extremists would strike back with dramatic attacks against foreigners, Western interests or government facilities in Pakistan. "A message has been given to foreigners and minorities that they are not safe here -- a planned and calculated message," said Aftab Ahmed Sheikh, a former senator and leader of the MQM political party of Muslim migrants from northern India. -- Information from the Associated Press, the New York Times and the Washington Post was used in this report.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
