Officials: Militants trying to divide U.S., Pakistan ruler

Americans may be targeted, say authorities

At least five people were killed and more than 40 others wounded in Sunday's grenade attack on a church in Pakistan.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sunday's grenade attack that killed two Americans and three others in Pakistan has led some top White House officials to conclude Islamic militants are targeting Americans to drive a wedge between the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the U.S. government.

The White House moved swiftly to denounce the terrorist attack. President Bush described the killings as "acts of murder that cannot be tolerated by any person of conscience nor justified by any cause."(Full story)

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice notified Bush early Sunday of the grenade assaults on a Protestant church in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, and the U.S. casualties. Bush, who was at the presidential retreat at Camp David, is set to return Sunday afternoon to the White House.

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Rice and other top officials conferred with Bush on his statement reacting to the attacks, and White House aides briefed Republican and Democratic lawmakers due to appear on Sunday talk shows on the attack and the White House response.

Though no individual or group has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, White House officials said they believe a key motive behind the assault was to destabilize the emerging U.S.-Pakistani relationship in the war on terror.

"This is a bad turn of events," said one official. "It now appears they [Islamic militants in Pakistan] are targeting Americans."

Another official said driving a wedge between the two countries was "certainly a partial motivation" of the terrorists.

Said a third official: "This is war. And it's not pretty."

The attack underscores the level of threat that all U.S. citizens face overseas, said Sean McCormack, spokesman for the National Security Council.

"This attack is a tragic reminder for all of us that we have to be very conscious in this environment while we are overseas," McCormack said. "The terrorists we are battling do not distinguish between those who work for the U.S. government and those who do not."