Pakistani Bombing protest, photo via Creative Commons

On Sunday, at least 85 people were killed and more than 120 were wounded in a suicide bomber attack on the historic All Saints Church in northwestern Pakistan.

With 34 women and 7 children dead, this is one of the most lethal attacks on the Pakistani Christian minority in years.

In a nation of 193 million, Christians make up only 3% of the Pakistani population. Militant groups target this minority as well as Pakistani Shiite Muslims.  

According to Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, all the victims seemed to be Christians exiting the church by the "Kohati gate" neighborhood in central Peshawar when two bombers detonated themselves. He believes the Taliban ordered the attack. 

The incident was preceded by warnings of a major terrorist incident being planned by the 'lashkar-e-jhangvi' (LeJ), a militant group loyal to the al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Sadly, no one was able to predict the event, the official said.

This attack only seems to be the beginning. "Until and unless drone strikes are stopped, we will continue to strike wherever we will find an opportunity against non-Muslims," said Ahmed Marwat, a spokesman for TTP-Jandullah, the main Pakistani Taliban.

Minister Nawaz Sharif has been trying to negotiate peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban in hopes of ending a decade of chaos. This, however, was publicly rejected by the Taliban, which reacted by murdering a senior army general in the Upper Dir, near the Arghan border, last week. 

Contact Staff Rporter Sarah Collins here.