MANSEHRA, Pakistan – Employees of Federal Way-based World Vision are mourning the loss of their colleagues after militants stormed an office in Pakistan, killing six employees.
Police in Pakistan say suspected Islamist militants attacked the World Vision offices in a town about 40 miles outside of Islamabad Wednesday. World Vision, a large Christian humanitarian group, is helping survivors of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Mansehra district.
Pakistani officials report the militants first set off a bomb, then a group stormed the agency with guns and hand grenades. An exchange of fire between police and militants followed the attack.
"This is a totally unprovolked situation where about 20 individuals arrived at our compound. They broke through our security and robbed our staff, shot several. We have six confirmed dead and seven who are hospitalized," said World Vision spokesman Dean Owen. Owen said the militants took jewelry, wallets, money, cell phones and computers.
World Vision reports all six employees killed are Pakistanis; two are women. In addition to the seven injured, one employee is missing.
Who was responsible for the attack and the motive is unknown at this point, said Owen.
"We will do a thorough investigation, but certainly this is a tragedy well beyond belief given World Vision has been working in Pakistan since the early 1990s. We've been around 60 years. We've never lost six staff in one day," said Owen.
Owen said World Vision has approximately 180 staff members in Pakistan at various offices. In lieu of the attack, World Vision has suspended its operations in Pakistan and all offices are now closed.
John Yeager saw World Vision's work firsthand back in 2005. He says it's a dangerous job, but can't comprehend why the group was targeted.
" You see the kind of people who are working with those in need and you know they have huge hearts and they're there because they want to help," said Yeager, World Vision.
The aid groups are seen by the militants as a challenge to their authority in regions under their influence. They often employ women and support female rights initiatives, further angering the extremists.
Extremists have killed other people working for foreign aid groups in Pakistan and issued statements saying such organizations were working against Islam, greatly hampering efforts to raise living standards in the desperately poor region.
In 2008, militants in Mansehra killed four Pakistanis working for Plan International, a British-based charity that focuses on helping children. Today's attack may have been prompted by World Vision's religious affiliation.
"This is the most World Vision has lost in one day at one place at one time, and people here are shocked," said Yeager.
Al-Qaida, the Taliban and allied groups are strong in northwestern Pakistan, but Mansehra lies outside the tribal belt next to Afghanistan where the militants have their main bases. Many foreign aid groups set up offices in Mansehra after the 2005 earthquake, which killed about 80,000 people.
Other aid organizations condemned the violence, but have no plans to scale back their efforts.
