Pakistani relatives and emergency workers after a suicide bomb went off in Lahore

Pakistani relatives and emergency workers after a suicide bomb went off in Lahore

Pakistani relatives and emergency workers after a suicide bomb went off in Lahore

A breakaway Pakistani faction of the Taliban has claimed responsibility for an Easter Sunday bombing in a Lahore park that killed 65 people.

Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, said a suicide bomber with the faction had deliberately targeted the Christian community in the eastern city.

The explosion took place near children's rides in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park, which was crowded with Christians celebrating Easter, local police chief Haider Ashraf said.

He said the explosion appeared to have been a suicide bombing, although investigations are ongoing.

The explosion killed 65 people and wounded more than 300 others, according 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.

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.

Footage broadcast on local television stations showed chaotic scenes in the park, with people running while carrying children and cradling the wounded in their laps.

One witness, who wished to be identified only as Afzal, said he had taken 20 children to hospital and carried three dead bodies to a police car.

Another witness said he was heading toward a fairground ride with his wife and two children when he heard a huge bang, and all four of them were thrown to the floor.

A woman was shown crying while looking desperately for her missing five-year-old son.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council said America "condemns the attack in the strongest terms", describing it as a "cowardly act in what has long been a scenic and placid park".

Belfast Telegraph