65 dead and 300+ injured in Pakistan suicide bombing
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 10:38 pm
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --
A breakaway Pakistani faction of the militant Taliban group has claimed responsibility for an Easter Sunday bombing that killed 65 people in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that was crowded with Christians, including many children.
Ahsanullah Ahsan, spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, told the Associated Press that a suicide bomber with the faction deliberately targeted the Christian community.
The explosion took place near the children's rides in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park local police chief Haider Ashraf said. He said the explosion appeared to have been a suicide bombing, but investigations were ongoing.
The attack killed 65 people and wounded over 300, said Deeba Shahnaz, a spokesman for Lahore rescue administration.
Punjab's chief minister Shahbaz Sharif announced three days of mourning and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice, said Zaeem Qadri, a spokesman for the provincial government.
The park was manned by police and private security guards, police chief Haider Ashraf said. "We are in a warlike situation and there is always a general threat but no specific threat alert was received for this place," he added.
Schools and businesses in the city will remain closed on Monday, the city's schools association and the Union of Lahore Traders said.