Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta, Pakistan on Sunday.
While the claim has not been verified and IS has a track record of opportunism in taking credit for attacks, nine people are now known to have died and more than 50 were injured when two men attacked the church. One was killed by guards on the roof and at the entrance, but the other denonated a suicide vest just after the service began.
Baluchistan police chief Moazzam Jah said there were nearly 400 worshippers in the church for the pre-Christmas service. The death toll could have been much higher if the gunmen had forced their way into the sanctuary, he said.
He said the church was on high alert as Christian places of worship are often targeted by Islamist extremists over the Christmas season.
Video footage of the aftermath shows a scene of devastation in the church, which held about 400 people at the time of the attack. One member of the congregation,
Aqil Anjum, who was shot in his right arm, said he heard a blast followed by gunfire. 'It was chaos. Bullets were hitting people inside the closed hall,' he said.
Kal Alaxander, 52, was at the church with his wife and two children when the attack happened. 'We were in services when we heard a big bang,' he told Reuters. 'Then there was shooting. The prayer hall's wooden door broke and fell on us ... We hid the women and children under desks.'
Footage obtained by Pakistan's Geo News shows the bombers trying to jump over the wall of the church compound. One succeeds and opens the gate for the other. At this point a guard shoots one of them.
Christians in Quetta gathered outside the hospital where the wounded were being treated to protest against the lack of security for them. The attack has been widely condemned, including by Pakistan's president and the influential army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who said: 'Quetta church attack targeting our brotherly Christian Pakistanis is an attempt to cloud Christmas celebrations. We stay united and steadfast to respond against such heinous attempts.'
Nasir Saeed, director of the UK-based Pakistan rights organisation CLAAS-UK, said. 'My heart goes out to the victims and their families. It is especially sad as Christmas is only a week away and Christians, already in the Christmas spirit, have been attacked.
'Attacking worshipers, especially over the Christmas season, is an act of cowardice. It is condemnable and such hate and violence cannot help anyone to make a place in heaven.'
The attack is the second on Christians in Quetta this month. On December 1 a seven-year-old boy, Issac Masih, was killed and a four-year-old wounded by a bomb.
Wilson Chowdry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Alliance, said: 'Arguably, the quick response of the security forces at the church reduced the impact of this attack, but that has done nothing to ease the anxiety that Christians are feeling. Christians clearly need more protection as two attacks on churches in two months is becoming too common an incident.
'Christians in Pakistan are buoyed by the condemnation of the Islamists by senior figures in the Government of Pakistan, but say it does little good. They desire a more robust investigative process to stop the terrorists before they attack or stronger security presence around churches especially during celebrations like Christmas, where radicalised Muslims are frenzied by the more overt Christian display of their faith.'
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches , Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, said: 'We condemn this tragic disregard for human life at a time when people were gathered to worship as a community. We will not allow this devastating act weaken our faith, our unity, and our common work for peace and justice in the world.'
A message from the president and vice-president of the Methodist Church in the UK said: 'Our thoughts and prayers are with our Methodist brothers and sisters in Pakistan after a suicide bomb and gun attack on a church in the city of Quetta. Hundreds of worshippers were inside the church and quick responses prevented a much higher death toll. Many Christians in Pakistan live in a climate of suspicion and discrimination.'
