chinton, Merry Christmas from NE of Lahore, Pakistan
DASKA, Pakistan -- Pakistani police are questioning a radical Muslim cleric and his son in connection with a Christmas Day church attack that killed three girls and injured at least 14 others.
The Protestant church in Chianwala, near the town of Daska, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Lahore was holding a special service for women and children when a grenade was hurled through an open front door by two attackers.
The detained cleric, Mohammed Afzal, reportedly said "it is the duty of every good Muslim to kill Christians," during a sermon at a mosque three days prior to the attack, a local police officer, Nazir Yaqub, told The Associated Press news agency.
Police detained Afzal on Wednesday evening for making hateful comments at the mosque, which is located near the location of the grenade attack. His son Attaullah was taken into custody on Thursday morning, Mohammed Riaz, a Daska police spokesman said.
Police believe Afzal, a local cleric at an Islamic religious school, is linked to Jaish-e Mohammed, a radical Kashmiri militant group that has been banned by Pakistan's government.
"Afzal told people,'You should attack Christians and not even have food until you have seen their dead bodies," Yaqub told AP.
Three girls -- aged 6, 11 and 15 -- were killed in the blast. Of the 14 injured, two were in serious condition at a Lahore hospital
Switching gears, LNG will both cap- and put a floor under nat gas prices in North America IMO.... |
