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Six Christian aid workers killed in Pakistan

The shooting spree on the third-floor office of the Idara Amn-O-Insaaf [Institute for Peace and Justice], a Pakistani Christian charity, sparked tension in the city, which has witnessed a spate of attacks against foreigners and minorities since President Pervez Musharraf started his crackdown on fundamentalist outfits in Pakistan.

The official news agency, APP, quoted police officials as saying the dead included three Christians and an equal number of Muslims.

Four were injured in the attack. One of them was an office assistant who was tied and beaten up by the attackers. After the assailants left he freed himself and ran to a nearby office to call the police, APP said.

It was not clear how many gunmen were involved, or which group was behind the attack. But the police said the gunmen were aged between 25 and 30 years.

Information Minister Nisar Memon condemned the attack, saying those who carried it out were "enemies of Pakistan".

"We are particularly sad about the killings in Karachi because the terrorist targeted unarmed Christian civilians," a media report quoted Memon as saying.

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