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Funeral of Lahore church blast victims held in Pakistan

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Funeral of the Christians killed in Sunday's attack at two churches in Pakistan's Lahore was held in the city Tuesday morning, local media reported.

Hundreds of people including political leaders and police officers participated in the final rituals of the deceased.

A heavy contingent of police was deployed in the area to avoid any further attack and any possible protest.

At least 16 people including seven Muslims and nine Christians were killed and 82 others injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance gate of two Christian churches in Lahore, the capital city of the country's east Punjab province, on Sunday.

Talking to media, Deputy Inspector General Police Haider Ashraf said that two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the main gate of Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church, located within a distance of one km in Youhanabad area of Lahore.

Enraged Christians who were praying inside the church snatched the suspects from police custody, beaten both of them to death and burnt their bodies.

Hundreds of angry protesters took to streets in Lahore and other cities of the country on Sunday and Monday to protest against the deadly blast and chanted slogans against the government for not providing adequate security to their worship places.

The protesters blocked roads for several hours in big cities of the country and damaged public property and pelted stones on the police.

The protest turned violent in Lahore where several people were injured in the result of the communal clashes, forcing the authorities to call in paramilitary forces Rangers to maintain calm.

Rangers also held a flag march at the streets of Lahore on Tuesday morning to convey the message of peace to the general public.

Jammatul Ahrar, an off-shoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying that Christians are their enemies.

The group's spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan also challenged the gov't and warned more attacks of the kind.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and directed the concerned authorities to beef up the security of churches, mosques and other worship places across the country.

It was the second major attack on Christians in the country in the last three years.

Earlier in 2013, 80 people were killed and over 100 others injured in twin suicide attacks at the All Saint's Church in the country's northwest Peshawar city. Endi