A seven-year-old boy and two others were killed earlier this week during a hand grenade attack on the gates of a Christian colony in Chaman, south-western Pakistan, reports UCA News.
Police named the boy as Lucky Saleem.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came days after Taliban gunmen murdered nine people at an agricultural college in the same city.
Nawaz Sanaullah, Chief Minister of Pakistan’s impoverished Balochistan region, condemned the attack and ordered security forces to apprehend the “terrorist elements” involved.
“Christians live in scattered communities across the biggest province and are rarely attacked,” Shezan William, Executive Secretary of local Catholic charity Caritas Quetta, told UCA News. “The attack has raised concerns for the safety of churches, especially in Christmas gatherings. We are in close contact with locals of the attacked colony and praying for the affected families.”
Two South Korean Christians were abducted and killed in Balochistan in June, suspected of being undercover missionaries. Their deaths were claimed by the Islamic State group.