Security forces hunt for militants behind Lahore blast

LAHORE: Pakistani authorities launched a hunt on Monday for militants behind a suicide bomb that killed over 70 people.

Most of the victims of the bomb attack at a park in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday evening were women and children enjoying an Easter weekend outing.

"We must bring the killers of our innocent brothers, sisters and children to justice and will never allow these savage inhumans to over-run our life and liberty," military spokesman Asim Bajwa said in a post on Twitter.

Officials said over 70 people were killed and about 300 wounded. The death toll was expected to rise. Pakistan has been plagued by militant violence for the last 15 years.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack, and issued a direct challege to the government.

"The target was Christians," said a faction spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said. "We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore.

The security forces have killed and arrested hundreds of suspected militants under a major crackdown launched after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 children at a military-run school in Peshawar in December 2014.

Sharif´s office condemned the blast as a cowardly act and said a response had been ordered, without elaborating.