Pakistan militants kill six in Christian school attack

Six people were killed and three injured when masked gunmen stormed a Christian missionary school for foreign children north of Islamabad yesterday.

The latest attack against a "foreign" target will deepen the tense stand-off between the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, and the militants who have made Pakistan their battleground.

Murree Christian School, in Gharial village, which is 37 miles north of Islamabad, has about 150 pupils aged between six and 18. But none of the children of foreign missionaries, which include British nationals, was injured.

The pupils, who had just finished a break, were in their classrooms when the four assailants burst into the school shortly before midday. When school guards tried to stop them from entering, the attackers opened fire on them, killing one on the spot.

The gunmen continued their journey around the school, randomly spraying bullets. The firing continued for about 15 minutes before the attackers fled after being fired at by a local policeman on duty near by. Two security guards, a school cook and a carpenter were among the dead. Those injured in the attack included the Filipina mother of one of the pupils.

Reports that the attackers left behind a note stating that they were opposed to the injustices endured by Muslims around the world could not be confirmed.

Police said they could not yet say who was behind the shooting, although a spokesman made clear that the school attackers had intended to kill foreigners. Tasleem Noorani, the Interior Minister, said: "A certain element of our society feels aggrieved by foreigners."

On 8 May, Islamic militants killed 11 French engineers and three Pakistanis in a bomb attack in the southern city of Karachi, while 12 Pakistanis died and 20 were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside the American consulate on 14 June. The consulate closed yesterday after a security alert.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, Russell Morton, the Australian principal of the school, described the shooting as "a potential disaster for the foreign missionary community". He said that in his opinion "this attack was designed to cause trouble for the Pakistani authorities".

The latest incident is the third fatal attack against the Christian community since General Musharraf came to power in 1999. A total of 16 people were killed in October 2001 when gunmen opened fire on a Protestant congregation in Bahawalpur in the Punjab province.

An attack on a church in Islamabad five months ago claimed the lives of five people including an American woman and her daughter.

The school assault was the sixth attack on foreigners or foreign interests since Pakistan joined the United States and its allies in the fight against global terrorism.

Local newspapers reported yesterday that the government was considering setting up a force to guard foreign diplomats and professionals working in Pakistan.

According to the reports, Britain, America and France have offered financial and technological support for the project in the face of continuing attacks against foreign targets in Pakistan. Up to 100 security personnel from different agencies would be sent to Britain and America for training.