Suspected militants armed with guns and grenades attacked the offices of an international aid group in northwestern Pakistan a few weeks ago. The attack left at least six employees dead and several others wounded, according to the police and the said organization.

All the victims of the assault on World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, were Pakistanis. They were aiming at helping the country’s earthquake survivors.

In the past, extremists have killed other people working in foreign aid groups, believing that such organizations were working against Islam. This has led to numerous support groups relocating their operations or completely pulling out of the area.

The attack also instigated warnings that other international non-government organizations currently in the country may also face more attacks linked to the Taliban in the future.

The violent event in Mansehra, north of Islamabad, started when the gunmen surrounded the Christian aid group’s offices. According to reports, only few resisted the attack, which happened only two days after militants caused an explosion of a Lahore police office used to interrogate major terrorist suspects. The suicide bombing killed more than 10 people.

After the attack, Western diplomats gave a statement that the Taliban now seem to be pursuing their campaign of terror against humanitarian work in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), one of the four main provinces of Pakistan.

In the previous month, chief Taliban officers, including the Taliban military chief of Afghanistan Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, were arrested in raids around Pakistan, which suggests that the terror group may be releasing their pent-up anger in response to the loss of its leaders.

The NWFP, which lies close to the Afghanistan border, has become the center for paramount security concerns for Pakistan. It is an area where US troops have executed numerous missile attacks using pilot-less drones to target suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda refuges.