Six people were killed and at least three wounded on Monday in a gun attack on a Christian school near Murree, northeast of the Pakistan capital of Islamabad, local officials and school staff said. The attack was at least the third on a Christian minority target since Pakistan began supporting the U.S.-led war on terror after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

An administrator at the school, who did not give his name, told Reuters that witnesses saw two men, carrying automatic rifles and their faces covered in black scarves, walk into the compound of the school and open fire indiscriminately.

"Two of our guards who are Muslims, a carpenter and a cook, were killed," the administrator said, adding a receptionist was also seriously injured.

It was not immediately clear whether any students or foreign nationals were among the dead and injured.

Doctors at a civil hospital in Murree confirmed six people had died and at least three injured.

Khurseed Abbassi, the mayor of Murree, told Reuters the raid took place at around noon (0600 GMT) in the village of Gharyal, about six km (four miles) from Murree, which is about 30 km (19 miles) northeast of Islamabad.

The gunmen were believed to have fled on motorcycles after the attack and hiding out in nearby woods, the mayor said.
The administrator said the two apparently arrived on foot. He said they entered the school gate, locked it behind them, opened fire and escaped over a fence.

GRENADE ATTACK ON CHURCH

A grenade attack in March killed five people including the wife and daughter of an American diplomat in a church in Islamabad mainly used by foreign nationals.

Last October, 16 Christians and a Muslim were massacred in a church in Bahawalpur in the populous Punjab province.
Christians, Hindus and other religions make up about three percent of Muslim-majority Pakistan's 140 million people.

The town of Murree was built as a hill station by the British and still bears the colonial imprint of churches, bungalows and guest houses.

PHOTO CAPTION

The town of Murree was built as a hill station by the British and still bears the colonial imprint of churches, bungalows and guest houses. Six people were killed and at least three wounded on Monday in a gun attack on a Christian school near Murree, northeast of the Pakistan capital of Islamabad