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More than 200 held after Pakistan detains 5,000 over Easter bombing

Pakistan has held 216 suspects after a major sweep by the military and the police saw more than 5,000 detained over the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attack.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to crack down on Islamist militants in the country after the attack in Lahore claimed the lives of more than 70 people, including 29 children.

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First funerals held for those killed in Lahore bombing

Grieving family and friends gathered for the funerals of at least four of those killed in the Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore, Pakistan.

The funerals for those killed in the suicide bombing have started to take place Credit: Reuters

Christian celebrations held in a public park were targeted by the blasts, which killed at least 70 people - 29 of whom were children.

Hundreds more were injured.

The Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction, which once declared loyalty to the so-called Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which has been roundly condemned by world leaders including the Pope.

Grieving relatives mourn those killed Credit: Reuters

The Pakistani government has now launched a paramilitary crackdown on Islamist militants in the Punjab province, with several raids carried out since the attack resulting in an unspecified number of arrests and the recovery of caches of arms.

It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since the December 2014 massacre of 134 schoolchildren at a military-run academy in Peshawar.

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