Six die in school shooting

Six people were killed and at least three injured today in a gun attack on a Christian school in Pakistan.

Police say four gunmen entered the missionary school complex near the hill resort of Murree, north east of the capital Islamabad, and opened fire indiscriminately.

Those killed are believed to be security guards and church staff, and include Christians and Muslims.

An administrator at the school said 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.

He said: "Two of our guards who are Muslims, a carpenter and a cook, were among those killed and a receptionist was also seriously injured".

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

The raid took place at about noon (6am British time) in the village of Gharyal, about six miles from Murree. The gunmen were believed to have fled on motorcycles and were hiding out in nearby woods, said the mayor of Murree, Khurseed Abbassi.

The attack is the third on a Christian target since Pakistan began supporting the US-led war on terror after the 11 September attacks.

A grenade attack on a church in Islamabad in March killed five people, including the wife and daughter of a US diplomat. Last October, 16 Christians and a Muslim were massacred in a church in Bahawalpur in the populous Punjab province. 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.

In a further twist to Middle-East violence, an Israeli couple were shot dead and their two children injured early today.

Gunmen opened fire on the family's car near the West Bank settlement of Eli, bringing to 13 the number killed in less than 24 hours in the latest wave of bloodletting in Israel.

Security officials said the gunmen, who ambushed the vehicle, escaped. The children, who

suffered minor injuries, were evacuated by helicopter to hospital.

Yesterday 11 people were killed and more than 80 wounded in separate attacks over seven hours.

In the first and most devastating attack, nine people, including several soldiers, were killed and 52 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus near the northern town of Safed.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing but Israeli officials today continued to blame Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Former Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for Mr Arafat's expulsion. He told Radio 4's Today programme that would create "tremendous possibility for a new [Palestinian] regime".