Britons injured in church blast

Police remove a body from the church

A number of Britons have been caught up in a grenade attack on a church in Pakistan.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was "deeply shocked" by the attack in a diplomatic area of Islamabad, which killed five people and injured about 45, some critically.

A British aid worker said he and a colleague were injured after at least one man burst into the church and hurled six grenades.

There were a couple of explosions just the other side of another chap and I felt the blast

Nic Parham
Injured Briton

The Foreign Office is investigating how many other Britons are among the wounded of eight nationalities, news agency Agence France Presse reported.

The wife of an American diplomat and her daughter, aged about 17, were among those killed.

Three of the grenades reportedly detonated among the congregation of between 60 and 70 people at the Protestant International Church, with the rest failing to explode.

Nic Parham who works for aid agency Tearfund, said apart from a friend, who suffered minor head injuries, and himself there had been "very few" Britons in the church.

'Stage bang'

The 36-year-old said: "I have just got a black eye and am a bit deaf in one ear.

"About 15 minutes into the sermon there was an explosion at the back of the church.

"It sounded like a big stage bang and people started to get down on the floor."

I want to express my condolences on behalf of Her Majesty's Government

Jack Straw
Foreign Secretary

The church is in the heavily guarded diplomatic quarter of the city, about half a mile (0.8 kilometre) from the United States Embassy.

But the attackers escaped security guards at the scene.

Mr Parham continued: "I turned to see what happened at the back of the church and saw a man running down the centre aisle.

"He had a belt on with what looked as though it could have been home-made grenades.

"They certainly were not normal British grenades.

"They were metallic on the outside.

"There were a couple of explosions just the other side of another chap and I felt the blast."

Mr Straw said: "I am keeping in close touch with our high commissioner in Islamabad.

"I want to express my condolences on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to the families of those who have been killed and to all those who have been injured."