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At least seven people were killed and 20 injured in a gun and bomb attack on the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church on Quetta's Zarghoon Road on Sunday afternoon, Balochistan's Inspector General (IG) Moazzam Ansari and Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti confirmed to DawnNews.
All casualties were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta. Hospital sources said they had initially received four bodies and around 20 injured, including women and children. Three of the injured passed away while undergoing treatment for their injuries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By the grace of Almighty, 02 Suicide Bombers stopped on entrance of Church in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quetta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quetta</a>. LEAs took 16 mins to complete the op. CCPO & DC <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quetta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quetta</a> along with IG Police <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Balochistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Balochistan</a> lead the operation from forefront.</p>— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakSarfrazbugti/status/942311606310113280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">God Forbid, if the terrorists had succeeded in their plans more than 400 precious lives would have been at stake.</p>— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakSarfrazbugti/status/942312637244887040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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At least two suicide attackers had struck the Bethel Memorial Church while service was ongoing. There were 400 worshipers inside the church when it came under attack, IG Ansari said.
Police assigned to the church's security reacted in a timely manner and averted a much larger tragedy, IG Ansari claimed. Eyewitnesses and provincial lawmaker Aniqa Irfan, who had reached the church soon after the attack, corroborated the claim.
One of the attackers was reported to have detonated his suicide vest near the church's main door after receiving critical injuries. Another was shot dead near the church's entrance by security forces after an intense gunfight, the police chief said.
Home Minister Bugti had initially said there may have been as many as four attackers, but the police chief spoke of only two in his briefing. FC personnel are sweeping the area surrounding Zarghoon Road to neutralise any further threats.
The Bethel Memorial Church has been the target of a terrorist attack in the past. Security had been beefed up for the church after the last attack, which occurred a few years ago. The church is located in the city's high-security zone.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1377184/7-killed-in-attack-on-quettas-bethel-memorial-methodist-church
All casualties were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta. Hospital sources said they had initially received four bodies and around 20 injured, including women and children. Three of the injured passed away while undergoing treatment for their injuries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By the grace of Almighty, 02 Suicide Bombers stopped on entrance of Church in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quetta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quetta</a>. LEAs took 16 mins to complete the op. CCPO & DC <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quetta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Quetta</a> along with IG Police <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Balochistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Balochistan</a> lead the operation from forefront.</p>— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakSarfrazbugti/status/942311606310113280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">God Forbid, if the terrorists had succeeded in their plans more than 400 precious lives would have been at stake.</p>— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakSarfrazbugti/status/942312637244887040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At least two suicide attackers had struck the Bethel Memorial Church while service was ongoing. There were 400 worshipers inside the church when it came under attack, IG Ansari said.
Police assigned to the church's security reacted in a timely manner and averted a much larger tragedy, IG Ansari claimed. Eyewitnesses and provincial lawmaker Aniqa Irfan, who had reached the church soon after the attack, corroborated the claim.
One of the attackers was reported to have detonated his suicide vest near the church's main door after receiving critical injuries. Another was shot dead near the church's entrance by security forces after an intense gunfight, the police chief said.
Home Minister Bugti had initially said there may have been as many as four attackers, but the police chief spoke of only two in his briefing. FC personnel are sweeping the area surrounding Zarghoon Road to neutralise any further threats.
The Bethel Memorial Church has been the target of a terrorist attack in the past. Security had been beefed up for the church after the last attack, which occurred a few years ago. The church is located in the city's high-security zone.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1377184/7-killed-in-attack-on-quettas-bethel-memorial-methodist-church
