The Christian community in Pakistan was in shock at increasing episodes of violence and abuse targeted at young Christian girls, according to Fides, a Vatican missionary agency.

Two of the most recent cases involved brutal violence against two Christian girls, Kiran Nayyaz and one identified as Lubna, Fides reported Oct. 14.

Lubna, 12, was abducted, raped and murdered by a group of Muslims, and Kiran, 13, became pregnant after being raped by a young Muslim.

Regrettably, these stories are just “the tip of the iceberg,” Fides said.

Episodes of violent abuse are “part of daily life” in Pakistan and growing in number against Christian and Hindu girls, said Fides.

The agency said Christians are targeted because they are considered on a lower social level, and often abductions of young girls involve intent to force marriage and religious conversion or to trap them into prostitution rings.