After second fatal attack, investigators say Pakistani Christia

TAXILA, Pakistan -- Assailants hurled grenades at worshippers leaving church Friday, killing three Pakistani women and reinforcing fears that Islamic militants are targeting Christians and Westerners in Pakistan in retaliation for the government's support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Investigators said they suspected the attackers were from the same cell of militants behind an assault Monday at a school for children of Christian missionaries in Murree.

Pakistan has been rocked by terrorist attacks since President Pervez Musharraf abandoned his Taliban allies and joined the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign after Sept. 11.

"We have drawn the conclusion that a group of between 15 to 20 terrorists is actively trying to kill Christians and Westerners to express their anger against Pakistan's support for the United States in the war against terrorism," chief police inspector Raja Mumtaz Ahmad said.

Heightened security

He said the group was believed to have divided into four teams to stage attacks in northern Pakistan. He said security had been stepped up at Christian churches throughout the country. Christians make up less than 2 percent of Pakistan's 145 million people, almost all the rest of whom are Muslim.

In Friday's attack, three men, one of them brandishing a pistol, ran through the front gate of a Presbyterian-supported hospital in Taxila, 25 miles west of Islamabad.

They locked two watchmen in a guard booth and then hurled grenades at women leaving the church on the hospital grounds.

Three killed, 25 injured

Three Pakistani nurses were killed, and at least 25 other people were wounded, half of them seriously. One attacker died when shrapnel entered his back and pierced his heart, police said. The others escaped.

The attack took place four days after gunmen raided the Murree Christian School about 40 miles east of the capital, killing six Pakistanis including guards and non-teaching staff.

None of the students, who come from 20 countries, were injured.

Most attacks against Westerners or Western interests have been centered in the southern city of Karachi. Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl was kidnapped there in January and later murdered.

The Taxila hospital is supported by the Presbyterian Church USA and the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan. It was founded in 1922 and treats mostly poor Muslims, specializing in eye diseases.

'I don't know why'

"We never thought we would be a target," said Ernest Lall, former director of the hospital. "We've been here since 1922, and someone throws a bomb. I don't know why."

Shahbaz Bhatti, leader of the All-Pakistan Minorities Alliance, urged authorities to increase security for the Christian minority.

"If immediate steps are not taken by authorities to provide protection to Christians, I fear that it will lead to the start of genocide in Pakistan," he said. "We strongly condemn this incident and we will definitely stage protests. We will not remain silent."

Bhatti said some Christian congregations were suspending or rescheduling services because of the recent attacks.