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CNN Sunday Morning

Grenade Attack Kills 2 Americans in Pakistan

Aired March 17, 2002 - 17:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get some details on that attack at a Protestant Church in Pakistan that killed an American woman, her daughter and three others. CNN's Islamabad bureau chief, Ash-har Quraishi joins us live via videophone from Islamabad -- Ash-har.

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the attack occurred just about -- just after 10:00 a.m. this morning, local time, in the Protestant International Church here in Islamabad. Now, that's located in a diplomatic area considered to be very safe. Today, apparently, not so. Two attackers apparently entered the church as services were being carried out there and threw a number of grenades at parishioners inside the church. Two of those detonated inside the church, injuring about -- approximately 40 people and killing the five that you mentioned.

Now, authorities are investigated this at this point. Local authorities in coordination with the government officials that we've spoken to say that they've deployed military aid as well, crisis management teams as well as the various embassies involved.

Now, this is a church that is predominately attended by diplomats, their families, children. And the injured that were from the church were taken to various hospitals and witnesses also were taken to the -- were spoken to. We talked to some witnesses today. One witness described the scene that he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- just I know I heard explosion and I didn't know what's happened. Then after, I tried to go the wrong way and I go out. And just -- I saw a person go out. I couldn't saw the face. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QURAISHI: Now, just a few -- a little while ago, we were allowed to go inside the church and see what had happened in there. A gruesome sight -- broken glass all over the place, chairs upturned. Inside the church where the services were being held, where it's believed that the grenades were detonated, blood on the floors, blood on the curtains, as well as on the ceiling, which was about 30 feet high. It was a gruesome sight. Investigators are still looking into who may have done this. There's been no claim of responsibility at this point. The government here in Pakistan also reacting. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf offering his condolences to the families of those killed and those injured, also, saying that he is launching -- he is ordering the launch of a coordinated hunt to find the perpetrators of this attack, saying that these people are no friends of Pakistan -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ash-har, could you give us a general sense, this is a diplomatic area near the U.S. Embassy? How tight is security there and how many police officers are evident on a typical day? And how difficult would it be to stage an attack like this?

QURAISHI: Well, this is supposed to be one of the safest areas in the -- in Pakistan. The U.S. Embassy, as you said, is there. There are other various embassies there. The Chinese Embassy is there. This church, however, which is about 300 meters from the U.S. Embassy, has about three entrances. Now, even having those three entrances, security is not very tight at this church, as it would be expected to be. One guard, as we understand it, was there at the church, but apparently not enough people to guard the other two doors where these -- where these attackers entered from.

So it's supposed to be a safe area. It's considered a safe area. But apparently, today, guard was left down and the attackers were able to strike -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ash-har Quraishi in Islamabad, thank you very much.

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