Dozens killed in suicide attack on Pakistani park

Dozens of people were killed Sunday after a suicide bomber targeted a park in Lahore, Pakistan.

At least 60 people, and almost certainly more, lost their lives in the attack on Gulshan-e-Iqbal park. Reuters reported that women and children were the primary victims; the explosion apparently went off near a swing set.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, took responsibility for the attack, saying that it was targeting Christians on Easter Sunday.

The scene was deeply gruesome. From Reuters:

Media footage showed children and women standing in pools of blood outside the park, crying and screaming and rescue officials, police and bystanders carrying injured people to ambulances and private cars.

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.

Facebook turned on its safety features following the blast—something it has been criticized for failing to do in some previous attacks.