Korean church in Tajikistan bombed

Two powerful explosions around 12:30 p.m. Korean time Sunday at the Grace Mission Church led by a Korean minister in Dushanbei, the capital city of Tajikistan, has led to the death of five members of the church and has critically injured 15 others.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs in Tajikistan revealed that at the time of the explosions, about 200 members of the congregation were in the three-story church for Sunday service.

The church was led by a Korean-American minister, Choi Yoon-Suk, who had been dispatched by the Grace Community Church based in Los Angeles. Although the members of the church were mostly Korean descendants rooted in Tajikistan and natives, the church also had six Korean citizens as members, including Jun Jong-Hui, who ran tae kwon do gym, and his family of four, as well as one other tae kwon do master and one missionary.