Pakistani officials said they will launch a crackdown on armed Muslim militant groups, after a suicide bombing left at least 70 dead and hundreds wounded on Easter Sunday in the provincial capital Lahore, according to Reuters. At least 29 children were among those killed in the attack.The powerful blast occurred near a children’s swing set in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, which was filled with a large crowd of families celebrating the Christian holiday, reports The New York Times.
"I wish I hadn’t brought my daughter to the park today,” Kamran Bhatti told The New York Times. "This is the only recreation we can afford for her. What is her fault?"
"While we were running out of the park, my daughter slipped and rolled over. She’s injured, but I thank my God that we are not crying for a lost child," he added.
Pakistani Taliban’s Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction has since claimed responsibility for the attack. The group had previously declared loyalty to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, according to Reuters. This deadly attack is the fifth by Jamaat-ur-Ahrar since December. Sunday's attack came just days after men attacked two sites in Brussels, killing dozens of people.
The attack was the deadliest Pakistan has seen since 2014. Officials told Reuters that they are launching a full-scale paramilitary Rangers operation in response. Using the Rangers will give authorities the power to conduct raids and interrogate suspects. But the government's use of the paramilitary group has also drawn criticism and reports of human rights abuses and the targeting of opposition politicians, according to Reuters. Military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa said a number of suspects have already been arrested.
Ahead, photos of how people in Pakistan are mourning those who lost their lives and were injured in the attacks. This story contains images that some readers may find upsetting.
Editor's note: All captions were provided by Getty Images.
Pakistani relatives bring an injured child to the hospital, after a suicide bomb ripped through the parking lot of a crowded park in Lahore on March 27.
An injured woman is carried to the hospital in Lahore after the attack. The powerful blast killed at least 70 people and injured more than 200.
Two women mourn the death of relatives. The crowded park was filled with Christians who had gone to celebrate Easter Sunday.
Emergency workers and police officers gather at a bomb blast site.
An overhead shot of the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park bomb blast site, as emergency workers and police officers gather.
Pakistani Christians light candles as they stage a rally in Lahore on March 28, for victims of a suicide bomb blast. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians on Easter killed some 70 people, including many children in a park crowded with families.
A Pakistani police commando walks at the cordoned-off site on March 28.
Pakistani police commandos stand guard at the suicide blast site. Since the attack, which was the deadliest in Pakistan since 2014, officials told Reuters that they are launching a full-scale paramilitary Rangers operation.
Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a blast victim.
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony of a blast victim in Lahore on Monday.
An injured Pakistani child victim of a suicide blast rests in a hospital.
Activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) hold placards during a rally in Srinagar on Monday, held to protest the suicide bombing.
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