ISLAMABAD, 10 August — Three nurses were killed yesterday when terrorists threw grenades at a crowd of women leaving a church, the second assault on a Christian target in Pakistan in less than a week. Doctors said 23 people, mostly female nurses, were injured and two were in serious condition.

Three men had been waiting by the hospital gates for the daily morning service to end before they struck at 7.45 a.m. (0145 GMT), according to police at the scene in Taxila, some 20 km (12 miles) west of the capital Islamabad. One of the attackers died. According to police, he was shot dead by the group after passers-by caught him.

The attack is the latest in a spate of terrorist incidents here since President Pervez Musharraf sided with the United States against the Taleban, outraging extremists. Police said they believed the attack in Taxila was linked to an assault four days ago against a school for children of Christian missionaries in which six Pakistanis were killed.

"We have drawn the conclusion that a group of between 15 to 20 terrorists is actively trying to kill Christians and Westerners to express their anger against Pakistan’s support for the United States in the war against terrorism," chief police inspector Raja Mumtaz Ahmad said. He said the group was believed to have divided into four teams to stage attacks in northern Pakistan.

"It is clear that terrorists are targeting the Christian community in Pakistan," said S.K. Tressler, the government minister in charge of minority affairs. "The entire Pakistani nation will have to fight terrorism."

Minister for Information Nisar Memon called the killings "a sinister attempt to drive a wedge between the Muslim and Christian communities of Pakistan".

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf’s archenemy, who is banned from fighting October elections, said the military leadership was losing its grip on law and order. "It claims to be a strong, one-man show, whereas the reality is that the situation is slipping out of its hands," she said in a statement from self-imposed exile in London.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered in front of the hospital’s locked gates, while inside the hospital, women wailed and pounded their chests. Staff members hugged each other or stood in shock.

"I was still inside the church when I heard explosions," said staff member Margif Tariq. "Windowpanes were falling on us, everyone was crying, everyone was in pain...When I came out, I saw dozens of women were lying on the pavement and most of them were bleeding."

Erik Masih, one of the security guards who was locked in the guard booth with his colleague by the attackers, said he tried to stop the men but "one of them pulled out a pistol and pushed me inside the room."

The attack took place after several gunmen raided the Murree Christian School about 60 km (40 miles) east of here on Monday, killing six Pakistanis. None of the students, who come from 20 countries, was injured.

On the following day, three men blew themselves up to avoid arrest after police stopped them in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, police said. Police said the three had boasted of taking part in the Murree raid and claimed that other groups would soon carry out similar attacks.