The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistan Taliban, have claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on Easter Sunday that killed at least 72 and wounded as many as 300 people in Lahore, Pakistan.
The bombing was a targeted attack against Christians, according to a statement by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, however it has emerged that the majority of those killed at the popular park, frequented by families, were Muslims.
It is reported that a suicide bomber stood next to children’s rides at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park and released a blast just after sunset on Sunday 27 March. 29 Children were killed, 7 women and 34 men.
Pakistani security forces have now carried out raids and arrested key suspects in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan, in the Punjab province.
Director General ISPR, Asim Bajwa made the following statement on the progress of the operation to find those responsible:
Number of suspect terrorists and facilitators arrested and huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered-3
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) March 28, 2016
Emerging from the horror of the event, has come to light stories of ordinary citzens coming to the aid of those effected by the blast. People of the area offered rides to hospitals and private taxi company Careem were offering free rides to people donating blood at hospitals treating those effected.
