Mumbai: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, says the whole Church in the continent is mourning the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh.

Suspected Islamists on July 7 carried out another deadly attack in Bangladesh at the country’s biggest prayer service for the start of Eid, days after a mass murder of hostages in the capital Dhaka.

Four people were killed on the terror attack on Eid. Authorities said four people, including two policemen, had been killed after several explosions and gunfire near a prayer ground in Kishoreganj district as at least 250,000 people joined a post-Ramadan gathering.

This was the second terror attack in Bangladesh in past one week.

Cardinal Gracias, who is also the archbishop of Bombay, called on people to draw strength from God’s “endless mercy” as violence picks up its deadly pace. “We are called to face these grave challenges with peaceful solidarity on the part of all people of good will,” the cardinal told AsiaNews news agency on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of prayer and fasting for Muslims.

Remembering the victims of the Dhaka massacre, Bangladesh, by Islamic terrorists, the prelate said that the whole Church in Asia is mourning the attack, “which struck so close to the end of the Holy season of Ramadan.”

Stressing that most of Muslims live in Asia, particularly in the south and southeast, he added that, “together as brothers we must foster a spirit of brotherhood and solidarity.”

The cardinal’s message follows:

“We are living in a time of great dangers and great opportunities for humankind and the world, a time which is also of great responsibility for us all. It is essential and urgent that religious leaders, governments and communities work together to build bridges of peace and promote reconciliation.

“May no one be tempted to despair by this recent attack. Dangerous forces and powers thrive on the empty hope that terror will blind us to our common humanity, removing one from God and leading to destruction, the dimensions of which at times horrify us.

“Let us pray and work for reconciliation, justice, peace and development, and as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in Asia, I assure you that the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole.

“May Christian-Muslim friendship inspire us always to cooperate in facing these many challenges, thus ensuring that religions can be a source of harmony for the benefit of society as a whole and for the human family.

“I send you cordial greetings. May your lives glorify the Almighty and give you joy and peace.”

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s national police spokesperson A K M Shahidur Rahman told reporters that two policemen, an attacker and a woman who was shot during the gunfight were killed.

“Nine policemen were also injured. They are in a critical condition and have been shifted to a military hospital in Dhaka.”

Another senior officer said that a group of at least three attackers had hurled hand bombs at police manning a checkpoint just outside the main prayer ground, which is around 150 km north of Dhaka.

Nearly 1,000 police were on duty in Kishoreganj at the time of the attack.

Two attackers were arrested, including one who had been shot and injured, while a pistol and machete were recovered from the scene.

The gathering in Kishoreganj is known as the Sholakia Eid prayers and officials put the number of people at the service on Thursday at between 250,000 and 300,000.

It is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim country that is home to around 160 million people.