Two suicide bombers have attacked a packed Christian church in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least nine people and wounding up to 56 before one of them blew himself up and police killed the other, officials said.
The gunmen wearing explosives-filled vests stormed the church in Quetta city when Sunday services had just opened, exploding a suicide vest and shooting at the worshippers, said Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister of Baluchistan province.
Police at the church exchanged fire with the attackers before they could enter the main sanctuary, said provincial police chief Moazzam Jah.
Mr Jah said two women were among those killed.
"There were nearly 400 people inside the church, but the attackers could not get inside the services," he said.
He added: "We killed one of them, and the other one exploded himself after police wounded him."
Mr Jah said the venue - Bethel Memorial Methodist Church – was on high alert as Christian places of worship were often targeted by Islamist extremists over Christmas.
Another police official, Abdur Razaq Cheema, said two attackers escaped from the scene.
No one has claimed responsibility.
Baluchistan has long been the scene of an insurgency by separatists fighting against the state to demand more of a share of the region's rich resources.
They also accuse the central government of discrimination.
