Pakistan: three killed at Christian hospital

Three nurses died when an unknown group threw grenades on a chapel in a missionary hospital near Islamabad yesterday. One of the suspected attackers also died, and around 20 people were injured. It was the second attack against a Christian target in Pakistan in less than a week. The incident happened in the ancient Buddhist town of Taxila, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Islamabad. Just four days ago six people were killed at a missionary school in the town of Murree, also near Islamabad. Information Minister Nisar Memon said in a statement: "Ever since Pakistan decided to join international efforts against terrorism, it has been subjected to such incidents." A spokesman for the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance said: "We are paying the price to be Christians here and to be allied with the West. "I think now it will be a complete genocide of the non-Muslims here if the Islamic militant forces are not checked," he added. The Taxila hospital, which is funded by Christian groups in America and is mainly staffed by foreigners, specialises in treating eye diseases.