© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

ISIS Claims Murders Of 4 Christians In Pakistan

ISIS says it was behind a terrorist attack on a Christian family in Quetta, Pakistan, that killed four people one day after Easter Sunday. The relatives had been riding in a rickshaw when motorcycle-riding gunmen opened fire on them.

Three men and a woman died in the attack. A fifth person riding in the rickshaw — a 12-year-old girl — survived and was taken to the hospital, Pakistan's Dawn news agency says.

From Islamabad, NPR's Diaa Hadid reports:

"By targeting the family on the road, the gunmen found a weak link: Pakistani forces had stepped up security around churches, to stop militants who target Christians on their holiest days. But the roads are still vulnerable.

"The family was traveling in Quetta, a garrison town near the Afghan border. It's the same town where ISIS militants stormed a church compound right before Christmas. They killed nine people."

According to Pakistan's Express Tribune, roughly 2 percent of Pakistan's population is Christian.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.