Phantast2k
Member
This will never end, we better get used to it.
Place: Allama_Iqbal_Town in Lahore, Pakistan
Source: Dawn (newspaper)
I wonder if Christians were specifically targeted (due to Easter).
/Update 1: yes, apparently they were:
Death toll at 69:
/Update 2:
/Update 3:
At least 53 dead after explosion in Lahore's Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
LAHORE: An explosion occurred in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park of Iqbal Town on Sunday evening, killing at least 53 people and injuring over a 100, police said.
Iqbal Town Superintendent of Police Dr Muhammad Iqbal said the explosion was a suicide attack and took place in a children's park, where a large number of families, especially women and children, were present on a Sunday evening. The area is a renowned residential area of Lahore.
‘Dead bodies everywhere’
Eye witnesses said there were pools of blood and scattered body parts in the park.
An eyewitness, talking to DawnNews, said dead bodies and injured were on the ground everywhere.
"We took the injured to hospitals on rickshaws and taxis."
He said the crowd was "unusually large" because of Easter.
"The roads were also jammed and queues of vehicles could be seen till Moon Market."
Many eyewitnesses said there was no security present in and around the park. A man, talking to DawnNews, said:
"The park is huge and has many entrance gates. There was almost negligible security personnel present there."
A Rescue 1122 spokesman confirmed that an emergency call was received at around 6:44pm and that over 20 ambulances reached the site.
An emergency has been declared at all government hospitals in the city, and a heavy contingent of police has cordoned off the area.
Place: Allama_Iqbal_Town in Lahore, Pakistan
Source: Dawn (newspaper)
I wonder if Christians were specifically targeted (due to Easter).
/Update 1: yes, apparently they were:
Suicide blast kills at least 65 in Lahore park - The Express Tribune
TTP’s Jamaatul Ahrar claims responsibility
A Pakistan Taliban splinter group claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack.
“We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter,” spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat ul Ahrar, Ehansullah Ehsan told The Express Tribune over telephone.
“It was part of the annual martyrdom attacks we have started this year,” Ehsan said, adding the operation codenamed “Saut-ul-Raad” will continue this year.
“We had been waiting for this occasion,” the TTP JA spokesperson said. “We want to convey to the ruling PML-N and the prime minister that we we have arrived in Punjab and we will reach you”.
Death toll at 69:
Suicide attack kills at least 69 in Lahore; Army deployed | Pakistan - Geo.tv
LAHORE: At least 69 people were killed and over 300 others injured in a deadly suicide explosion near the city’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park on Sunday, rescue and security officials said.
/Update 2:
/Update 3:
BBC mention a possible explanation for the timing of the attack.
Meanwhile in the capital, Islamabad, police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who marched in support of Islamist gunman Mumtaz Qadri, who they see as a religious hero.
Qadri was hanged last month for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer five years ago.
Mr Taseer had defended a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges.