Pakistani Christian family shot dead, Islamic State claims attack

The militant group in a press statement said that a “covert unit” of IS militants “managed to target a number of the combatant Christians”.

Four members of a Pakistani Christian family were shot dead in Quetta city in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

A member of the Iraqi rapid response forces walks past a wall painted with the black flag commonly used by Islamic State militants, at a hospital damaged by clashes during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in the Wahda district of eastern Mosul. (Reuters File)

On Monday night, armed men intercepted the vehicle carrying the family and opened fire, Quetta Police spokesperson Mohamed Ramzan said on Tuesday. They fled on a motorcycle after the attack, Dawn online reported.

The militant group in a press statement said that a “covert unit” of IS militants “managed to target a number of the combatant Christians”.

The statement added that the militants “shot them with a pistol, which resulted in the killing of four of them”.

The attack came a day after Pakistani Christians, a mere two per cent of the country’s population, had celebrated Easter Sunday. Attacks against Christians are frequent in Pakistan.

In December 2017, a week before Christmas, two IS suicide bombers had stormed into a packed church in Quetta and killed 10 and wounded 44 people.

In March 2016, the Taliban targeted Christians celebrating Easter in a park in Lahore killing 71 people.