
More than 70 people, including 29 children, have been killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who targeted Christians near a children's playground in a park in Pakistan.

Some 300 people were injured when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near the children's swings in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, in Lahore, where many had gathered to celebrate Easter.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, adding: 'The target was Christians.'

Senior police official Haider Ashraf confirmed that the death toll had risen to 72 on Monday morning, adding the majority of the dead were Muslims.

An injured Pakistani child victim of a suicide blast rests in a hospital in Lahore after a suicide bomber attacked a park thronging with families celebrating Easter killed at least 72 people

Rescuers seen helping the injured people at the explosion site, where at least 29 children lost their lives

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack

The blast happened a few metres away from children's swings, and most of the victims are believed to be women and children.

Witnesses described children screaming as people carried the injured in their arms, while frantic relatives searched for loved ones.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, has announced three days mourning and pledged to ensure that those involved in the attack are brought to trial.

Nasreen Bibi, the mother of a two-year-old injured in the attack, spoke through tears as she waited for news from the doctors.

'We were just here to have a nice evening and enjoy the weather. May God shower his wrath upon these attackers. What kind of people target little children in a park?'

A girl who was injured in the suicide bomb blast is rushed to a hospital in Lahore in the wake of the bombing

Injured children recover in hospital as the death toll rose to 72 on Monday morning

Bodies were lined up by the side of a fairground ride after the tragic bombing in which 70 people have been killed, and the death toll is expected to rise further

Pakistani emergency workers and police officers gather at the blast site, where 300 people were injured

The blast occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, a few metres away from children's swings, and most of those hurt and killed are thought to be women and children

ball bearings were found at the blast site, where armed police are still standing guard late into the evening

Men mourn the death of their relatives after a blast outside a public park in Lahore that was attacked

Scenes of distress were seen on the streets as local people came to terms with the anguish of the attack

People in the area rushed to help more than 300 people who were injured in the blast and they are now filling up hospitals nearby

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but the country is plagued with Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs

The group responsible for the attack was founded by Omar Khalid Korasani, a former Taliban senior leader who broke off from the main group to form the more-hardline organization in 2014.

He re-aligned with the main Pakistani Taliban leadership last year, and the group are currently waging war on the government, which in 2014 vowed to grant no safe haven to terrorists.

The attack happened in the heart of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif political base in Punjab.

In a statement, the group said: 'We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter.

'We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore. He can do what he wants but he won't be able to stop us. Our suicide bombers will continue these attacks.'

The group was previously responsible for a March 2015 bombing at a Roman Catholic church in Lahore that killed 15 people and injured 70 others.

Today, eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the parking lot once the dust had settled after the blast.

The army had been called in and soldiers were at the scene helping with rescue operations and security.

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.'

Salman Rafiq, a health adviser to the Punjab government, called on people to donate blood, saying that many of those wounded were in a critical condition.

DAVID CAMERON URGES BRITONS TO STAND UP FOR CHRISTIAN VALUES AND OFFERS AID TO PAKISTAN FOLLOWING TODAY'S BRUTAL BOMBINGS Prime Minister David Cameron has promised British help for Pakistan after today's bombing in Lahore. Mr Cameron, who used his Easter message to urge Britons of all faiths to stand up for Christian values, said he was shocked by the attack. 'My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. We will do what we can to help,' the PM posted on his Twitter feed. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: 'My thoughts are with the victims and the family of the victims of the horrific attack in Lahore. 'Solidarity with the emergency services there.' Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond wrote on Twitter: 'My thoughts are with victims of Lahore Blast. UK utterly condemns senseless & shocking violence against innocent families.' Advertisement

Police cordoned off an area where crowds of people still remain, pictured metres away from a fairground ride in the park

Pakistani rescuers use a stretcher to lift a body from a bomb blast site in Lahore which targeted Christians

This man is being led away from the scene in tears, as many mourn the death of loved ones today

The army had been called in and soldiers were at the scene helping with rescue operations and security

Salman Rafiq, a health adviser to the Punjab government, called on people to donate blood, saying that many of those wounded were in a critical condition

A medical superintendent at Jinnah Hospital, who gave his name only as Dr Ashraf, said more than 40 dead bodies had arrived at the hospital.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS 'COWARDLY ACT' AGAINST 'INNOCENT' PEOPLE In a statement from the White House, Ned Price, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said: 'The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's appalling terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan. 'This cowardly act in what has long been a scenic and placid park has killed dozens of innocent civilians and left scores injured.' He added that the country 'stands with the people and government of Pakistan at this difficult hour. We will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region ... to root out the scourge of terrorism.' Advertisement

'The number of injured stands at more than 200 people, most of them are in critical condition,' he said. I fear the death toll will rise.'

He described a nightmarish scene at the hospital, with staff treating casualties on floors and in corridors.

Javed Ali, a 35-year-old resident who lives opposite park, said the force of the blast had shattered his home's windows.

'Everything was shaking, there were cries and dust everywhere.

'After ten minutes I went outside. There was human flesh on the walls of our house. People were crying, I could hear ambulances.'

He added: 'It was overcrowded because of Easter, there were a lot of Christians there. It was so crowded I told my family not to go.'

'When the blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the air,' said Hasan Imran, 30, a resident who had gone to Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park for a walk.

The park had been particularly busy on Sunday evening due to the Easter holiday weekend, and ambulances were seen rushing to the blast scene.

A boy who was injured in a suicide bomb, after which the health minister called on people to give blood so that they could treat the hundreds of casualties

An injured woman is taken to a hospital after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded park

Police cordoned off an area where crowds of people still remain, pictured metres away from a fairground ride in the park.

There was human flesh on the walls of our house Javed Ali

Salman Rafique, a health adviser for the Punjab provincial government, put the death toll at least 52 people.

'Most of the dead and injured are women and children,' said Mustansar Feroz, police superintendent for the area in which the park is located.

Media footage showed children and women crying and screaming and rescue officials, police and bystanders carrying injured people to ambulances and private cars.

In 2014, Pakistan launched an offensive against Taliban and affiliated jihadist fighters in North Waziristan, seeking to deprive them of safe havens from which to launch attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Punjab has traditionally been more peaceful than other parts of Pakistan. Sharif's opponents have accused him of tolerating militancy in return for peace in his province, a charge he strongly denies.

Last year, a bomb killed a popular Pakistani provincial minister and at least eight others when it destroyed the minister's home in Punjab

People were seen picking up the debris which was scattered on the ground after the bomb went off

People were carried out of the blast zone unconscious and eyewitnesses saw body parts strewn all over the floor after the bloody attack

Ambulances rushed to the scene to help the injured and dozens of people were taken to hospitals nearby

A Pakistani man mourns at a hospital after yet another brutal attack in the country, which has been plagued by bombings for the last eight years

Many could be seen weeping in the city, which has paid a high price for its policy of offering no quarter to the Pakistani Taliban, which has resulted in a terrible death toll