Cleric detained over Pakistani church attack as victims buried

MOURNERS buried three girls killed in a Christmas grenade attack on a tiny church in eastern Pakistan, and police detained an Islamic cleric who allegedly called on followers to kill Christians days before the bombing.

Police also detained three other people yesterday for questioning in the attack, which injured 13 people in Chianwala, about 40 miles northwest of Lahore. Two assailants covered in burqas the all-encompassing garment worn by women in some Islamic countries tossed a grenade into the middle of worshippers at a Christmas service on Wednesday.

Yesterday, about 2,500 people, several times the number of the church's normal congregation, gathered for a memorial service for the girls killed in the attack.