(17 Dec 2017) Two suicide bombers attacked a church in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday, killing eight people and wounding 42 others, officials said.
Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister for the southwestern Baluchistan province, said hundreds of worshippers were attending services at the church ahead of Christmas. He said the attackers clashed with security forces, with one assailant killed at the entrance while the other made it inside.
An eyewitness said she first heard gunfire, followed by a blast.
Baluchistan police chief Moazzam Ansari praised the response of security forces guarding the church, saying the attacker who made it inside was wounded and unable to reach the main building. "Otherwise the loss of lives could have been much higher," he told reporters.
Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said a search is underway for two suspected accomplices who escaped.
Wasim Baig, spokesman for Quetta main hospital, confirmed the attack's toll, updating earlier accounts from officials.
No one immediately claimed the attack. Muslim extremists have targeted Pakistan's small Christian minority in the past.
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