Six of nine Quetta church attack victims laid to rest

QUETTA: Final rites were carried out Monday for six of the nine victims who lost their lives Sunday in attack on Bethel Memorial Methodist church, Geo News reported.

The bodies were taken to ‘Gora Qabristan’ in Quetta Cantt for burial earlier in the day. The body of one of the remaining three deceased was sent to Lahore while final rites of the other two will be carried out Tuesday after their relatives arrive in Quetta. The nine deaths and injuries to over 50 people took place Sunday morning when a church on Zarghoon Road, was attacked by terrorists.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti told Geo News that two suicide bombers stormed the church, one of whom was shot dead at the entrance. The other suicide bomber blew himself up outside the church hall.

According to officials, the two suicide bombers were between the ages of 16 and 20. The suicide jacket which was defused contained 15 kg of explosive material. Balochistan IGP Moazzam Ansari confirmed to media that 400 people were present inside the church at the time of the attack and a major tragedy was avoided due to quick response of security forces.

“The suicide bombers were unable to enter the main building of the church. If they were able to do this and we did not have security deployed to neutralise them, they would have caused a lot of damage,” Ansari said, adding security forces have cleared the church.