Families
of the victims killed in a massive suicide bombing targeting Pakistani
Christians in Lahore have started burying their relatives as a
nationwide three-day mourning period began.
The funerals on Monday followed the attack at a park in Pakistan's
second largest city a day earlier, aimed at killing members of the
Christian minority gathered on Easter Sunday.
At least 70 people were killed, with many having succumbed to their
wounds on Monday. More than 300 were wounded, officials said. Most
victims were women and children.
The bombing was claimed by a breakaway Taliban
faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, that has before publicly supported the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
Even though Sunday's bombing targeted mainly Christians, most of
those killed in Lahore were Muslims, who were also in the park on Easter
Sunday.
Of the dead, at least 14 have been identified as Christians,
according to Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. Another 12
bodies have not yet been identified, he said.
'No security'
The suicide bomber detonated himself just metres away from children's
rides in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal park, or Garden of Iqbal, of Allama Iqbal
Town. The park is named after Sir Muhammed Iqbal, a prominent Pakistani
poet and philosopher who died in Lahore in 1938.
Sahil Pervez, 11, was among those killed.
His uncle Aftab Gil, speaking at the child's funeral, said: "The
government of Punjab had no security arrangements for the parks or even
today here in this church.
"If they deploy some security they are so lazy, so now this is our
request from our government and especially from the prime minister, who
he should take personal interest to finish this terrorism in this
country."
The bombing marked Pakistan's deadliest attack since the December 2014
massacre of more than 130 school children at a military-run academy in the city of Peshawar that prompted a big government crackdown on hardline groups.
WATCH: Pakistan - Victim or exporter of terrorism?
Sunday's blast underscored both the precarious position of Pakistan's
minorities and the fact that the fighters from armed groups are still
capable of staging wide-scale assaults despite the months-long military
offensive targeting their hideouts and safe havens in remote tribal
areas.
Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told the Associated
Press news agency late on Sunday that the suicide bomber deliberately
targeted the Christian community celebrating Easter.
Ahsan said the attack also meant as a protest against Pakistan's military operation in the tribal regions.
The same group - which has vowed to continue such attacks - also took responsibility for the
twin bombings of a Christian Church in Lahore last year.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar split with the main Pakistani Taliban in 2014. It
later declared allegiance to ISIL but has since said it was rejoining
the Taliban campaign.
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Rescue workers move a body from the blast site [Mohsin Raza/Reuters]
|
On Monday, authorities said they would launch a manhunt for those behind the attack.
In pictures: Bomb blast in Pakistan's Lahore
"We must bring the killers of our innocent brothers, sisters and
children to justice and will never allow these savage inhumans to
over-run our life and liberty," military spokesman Asim Bajwa
said on Twitter.
"Number of suspect terrorists and facilitators arrested and huge
cache of arms and ammunition recovered," he continued, without giving
further details.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif toured hospitals full of victims, promising to bring justice.
'Screaming like the world collapsed'
Witnesses described the scene on Sunday evening as traumatising.
TV footage showed children and women standing in pools of blood
outside the park, crying and screaming as rescue workers, officials,
police and bystanders carried wounded people to ambulances and private
cars.
Local media reported that many of the bodies were being kept in
hospital following the attack wards as morgues had become overcrowded.
"I was a few blocks away from the blast," witness Mian Ashraf told Al
Jazeera. "Many people were running and screaming like the world has
collapsed. Until when will we see our loved ones getting killed in such
attacks?"
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The suicide bomber detonated himself close to the children's rides at the busy park [Reuters] |
Other witnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the ground once the dust had settled after the blast.
"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 the park for a walk.
Lahore is the capital of Punjab, which has normally been more peaceful than other parts of Pakistan.
Soon after Sunday's attack, the Punjab government ordered all
public parks closed. The main shopping areas in Lahore were closed and
many of the city's roads were deserted.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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