PESHAWAR,
Pakistan (AP) — A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives
outside a historic church in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing
over 60 people in the deadliest-ever attack on the country's Christian
minority, officials said.
The
bombing in Peshawar, which wounded another 120 people, underlines the
threat posed by Islamic extremists as the government seeks a peace deal
with domestic Taliban militants. It will likely intensify criticism from
those who believe that negotiating peace with militants is a mistake.
The
attack occurred as hundreds of worshippers were coming out of the
church in the city's Kohati Gate district after services to get a free
meal of rice offered on the front lawn, said a top government
administrator, Sahibzada Anees.
"There
were blasts and there was hell for all of us," said Nazir John, who was
at the church with at least 400 other worshippers. "When I got my
senses back, I found nothing but smoke, dust, blood and screaming
people. I saw severed body parts and blood all around."
Survivors
wailed and hugged each other in the wake of the blasts. The white walls
of the All Saints Church were pockmarked with holes caused by ball
bearings or other metal objects contained in the bombs to cause maximum
damage. Blood stained the floor and was splashed on the walls. Plates
filled with rice were scattered across the ground.
The
blasts killed over 60 people and wounded another 120, said Arshad
Javed, the top health official at the hospital in Peshawar where the
victims were being treated. The dead included several women and
children, said Sher Ali Khan, another doctor at the hospital.The attack
was carried out by a pair of suicide bombers who detonated their
explosives almost simultaneously, said police officer Shafqat Malik.
Authorities found their body parts and were trying to determine their
age, he said.
The
number of casualties from the blasts was so high that the hospital was
running out of caskets for the dead and beds for the wounded, said Mian
Iftikhar Hussain, a former information minister of surrounding Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province who was on the scene.
"What
have we done wrong to these people?" asked one of the wounded, John
Tariq, referring to the attackers. "Why are we being killed?"
Tariq's father was killed by the blasts, he said.
No
one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will
likely fall on one of the country's many Islamic militant groups.
Islamic militants have been blamed for previous attacks on the Muslim
country's Christian minority, as well as Muslim groups they consider
heretics.
"This is the deadliest attack against Christians in our country," said Irfan Jamil, the bishop of the eastern city of Lahore.
The
bishop in Peshawar, Sarfarz Hemphray, announced a three-day mourning
period and blamed the government and security agencies for failing to
protect the country's Christians.
"If
the government shows will, it can control this terrorism," said
Hemphray. "We have been asking authorities to enhance security, but they
haven't paid any heed."
Hundreds of Christians burned tires in the street in the southern city of Karachi to protest the bombing.
"Although
the government claims they are with minorities, we are being
victimized," said one of the protesters, Tariq Masih. "We need justice."
Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement sent to
reporters, saying, "The terrorists have no religion and targeting
innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions."
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