At least 74 people have died and more than 300 wounded in an explosion in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, according to local police.<\/p>\n
Punjab government has announced three days of mourning and pledged to ensure that those involved in the attack were brought to trial.<\/p>\n
The attack was claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar.<\/p>\n
The blast struck Gulshan-e-Iqbal park on the western side of Lahore. The large public park was crowded with people enjoying a spring evening and Easter holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
One eyewitness said there was chaos, with a stampede breaking out and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.<\/p>\n
Dozens of women and children were seen being wheeled into hospitals, covered in blood. Many of the injured were transported to hospitals on taxis and auto-rickshaws due to a shortage of ambulances. Hundreds of citizens arrived outside hospitals to donate blood.<\/p>\n
Lahore Superintendent Police Dr Muhammad Iqbal confirmed this was a suicide attack that took place at a children’s park, where a large number of families, especially women and children, were present.<\/p>\n
The casualties included many women and children, Reuters reports, citing a superintendent of police for the area.<\/p>\n
Eye-witnesses said there were pools of blood and scattered body parts spread across the site of the attack. Another eyewitness said the crowd was \u201cunusually large\u201d because of Easter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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