Gunmen attack house of worship of minority sect in Pakistan, wounding 6 worshippers

Audio By Carbonatix

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — At least three gunmen attacked a house of worship of the Ahmadi sect in eastern Pakistan on Friday, wounding six worshippers before guards killed one of the attackers and the other two fled, police and a community spokesman said.

The attack took place in Rabwah, a city in Punjab province, said senior police officer Abdullah Ahmad. He said the assailants tried to enter the Bait-ul-Mehdi worship place during Friday prayers but were stopped by security personnel guarding the site.

Ahmadis represent a small minority in Muslim-majority Pakistan and have long faced persecution by hard-line Sunni groups who consider them heretics. Pakistan’s parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, and they are barred by law from identifying as Muslims or calling their places of worship mosques. However, Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims.

Ahmad said police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the fleeing attackers.

No one claimed responsibility, and police said they were still investigating.

Images sent sent to The Associated Press by a community member showed the body of one slain attacker lying outside the gate of the worship place, as police officers searched the area for his accomplices.

Amir Mahmood, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community, urged the government to protect Ahmadis, whose places of worship and even graveyards are also often desecrated.

The Ahmadi faith was founded in the 19th century in the Indian subcontinent by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whose followers believe he was a prophet.