IS claims responsibility for attack on Pakistan Christian family

The Islamic State group, on Tuesday, claimed responsibility for murdering four Christian family members in southwestern Pakistan a day after Easter celebrations.

The militant group issued a statement saying ISIS fighters on Monday opened fire on the group of Christians traveling in the city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, killing four, Reuters reported.


The Christian family was traveling to the city, which is known for its large Christian community. The family set off to visit their relatives, but their vehicle was intercepted by the militants who then shot them.

“It appears to have been a targeted attack,” Moazzam Jah Ansari, a provincial police official, told Reuters. “It was an act of terrorism.”

The terror attack came just a day after Christians around the world celebrated Easter on Sunday. The Pakistani Christian community, the second largest minority group in the country, consists of over 2 million people.

Baluchistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is known for violence against minority groups, mostly perpetrated by Sunni Islamist groups linked to the Taliban, al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a packed Christian Church in southwestern Pakistan in December, just a week before Christmas, killing at least 9 and wounding over 50.

It was the first time the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a church bombing, though a number of Christian churches were attacked over the recent years.

“There were nearly 400 people inside the church, but the attackers couldn’t get inside the services,” provincial police chief Moazzam Jah told Reuters. “We killed one of them, and the other one exploded himself after police wounded him,” he said.