A suicide bomber has killed at least 60 people, and injured at least 300, at a park in Pakistan where many families were celebrating Easter. NBC Newsreports that most of those killed or injured in the terror attack are women and children.
The blast went off in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore near a children's amusement area. It was reported that a large number of the area's Christian families were there to celebrate the holiday. Authorities there told NBC that the remains of the suicide bomber had been recovered, and that it was a man between 25 and 30 years old.
Fox reports that the explosion happened just outside the gate to an area that has children's rides. The local police chief told the media that the park did have police and private security in place, but noted that the situation in the area makes the threat of terror attacks a reality.
"We are in a warlike situation and there is always a general threat, but no specific threat alert was received for this place," he said.
Footage from the scene showed people carrying wounded children and many screaming people running from chaotic the scene.
"When the blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the air," Hasan Imran, 30, told Reuters.
The Associated Pressreported that a spokesman for a Pakistani faction of the Taliban told the news service that it was claiming responsibility for the attack, and warned that more attacks would follow. The spokesman also reportedly said that the bombing was deliberately meant to target Christians.
The deadly terror attack comes only days after bombings at an airport in Brussels left 30 people dead and put Europe on edge.
