Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police collected evidence from the scene after the blast

At least 26 people have been killed in a bombing in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.

More than 50 others were injured in the explosion on the busy Ferozepur Road close to a vegetable market in the south of the city.

The Pakistani Taliban said it was behind the explosion.

Reports suggest it was a suicide bomber on a motorbike, and the target may have been police working in the area. Police officers are among the dead.

Windows were blown out in nearby buildings by the force of the blast.

Eyewitness Sher Dil, who works at an office near the site, said he heard a "deafening blast".

The market was full of police at the time because officers had been sent to clear stalls that had illegally spilled into the road.

"We suspect that he [the suicide bomber] came on a motorcycle and he rammed it into a police checkpoint," Lahore police operations chief Haider Ashraf told Reuters.

Rescue workers have transferred the wounded to hospital, and police and army troops were sent to contain the scene.

Pakistan's president, prime minister and army chief have all expressed their sorrow and condolences for the loss of life.

It is the latest in a series of explosions in Lahore in recent months.

In April, the Pakistani Taliban said they had carried out an attack on workers conducting a government census.

A Taliban faction said it was behind a bomb attack in Lahore in February which killed 13 people and wounded more than 80.

The Pakistani Taliban is loosely allied with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, but targets the Pakistani government.

Update July 25 2017: Police later said they did not believe the attacker had used a motorbike but had been on foot.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani official says at least 12 people have been killed in a car bombing in the eastern city of Lahore.</s>At least 26 people have been killed in a car bombing in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.

Almost 50 others were injured in the explosion on the busy Ferozepur Road close to a vegetable market in the south of the city.

Reports suggest it was a suicide car bomb and the target may have been police working in the area. Police officers are among the dead.

It is the latest in a series of explosions in Lahore in recent months.

In April, the Pakistani Taliban said they had carried out an attack on workers conducting a government census.

A Taliban faction said it carried out a bomb attack in Lahore in February which killed 13 people and wounded more than 80.</s>At least 26 people were killed in Lahore on Tuesday after suicide bomber detonated explosives at a market in the Kot Lakhpat neighbourhood. The Pakistan Taliban, otherwise called the Tehreek-e-Taliban, claimed responsibility for the blast, Reuters reported, which also left 52 injured. Of those killed, nine were police officers, according to Dawn.

Lahore police operations chief Haider Ashraf told Reuters that the bomber drove into a police checkpoint on a motorcycle. The injured were moved to hospitals in the vicinity, and the Army was called in to survey the area.

Police said the officers killed were there to provide security to the Lahore Development Authority, which was carrying out demolition work in the vicinity. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “strongly condemned” the blast.</s>Pakistani rescue workers prepare to remove a body from the site of a deadly bombing in the eastern city of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, July 24, 2017. Pakistani officials said that the suicide motorcycle bombing killed over 20 people and wounded more than 20 others at a vegetable market in the neighborhood of Kot Lakhpat on Lahore's outskirts. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)</s>Lahore attack: Taliban suicide bomber kills at least 25 people in Pakistan, many of them police

A suicide bomber has killed at least 25 people, many of them police, in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say — in an attack which shattered a period of relative calm in Pakistan's second-largest city.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which wrought carnage near the Lahore Technology Park in the centre of the city.

Police deployed to clear street vendors from the area had been targeted, an official said.

Rescue workers shifted the injured to hospital and police officers cordoned off the bomb site as army troops also arrived at the scene.

"The death toll we have now is 25 dead and 52 are wounded," Jam Sajjad Hussain, spokesman for the Rescue 1122 service, said.

An injured man sitting on the roadside was shown crying in pain on television amidst cars and motorcycles mangled by the blast.

The bombing was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, in a message sent to the media by spokesman Muhammad Khurassani.

The Pakistani Taliban are loosely allied with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, but focus their attacks on the Pakistani Government.

Bomb blasts by militants are common in Pakistan, especially in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but attacks in Lahore have become less frequent in recent years.

Haider Ashraf, deputy inspector general of Punjab police, said the blast was a suicide attack and "police were the target".

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the majority of those killed and wounded were police and warned the death toll could rise.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast in a statement and directed medical efforts for those injured.

In early April, a suicide attack on an army census team that killed at least six people and wounded 18 in Lahore was also claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

After a series of attacks in February, including two in Lahore that killed over 20 people, Pakistan's powerful military began a nationwide crackdown on militants.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - The Latest on the developments in Pakistan (all times local):

Pakistani police say the death toll in a suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore has risen to 22.

Senior police officer Haider Ashraf says a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck near police guarding a demolition site at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Lahore.

Ashraf said earlier it was believed earlier that the bomb was in a car, but it discovered that the vehicle belonged to a police officer, among the eight officers killed.

He said many of 35 wounded are policemen.

The outlawed militant group Tahrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lahore has faced scores of terror attacks in recent years. A suicide bombing earlier this year killed 16 police on a busy road while another killed over 70 people during Easter last year.

Pakistani officials say a car bomb has killed 12 people and wounded 25 in the eastern city of Lahore.

A statement from Malik Mohammad Ahmed, a spokesman for government of the eastern Punjab province, says the car bomb struck an old vegetable market in the neighborhood of Kot Lakhpat on Lahore's outskirts on Monday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police officer Kashif Aslam says the bombing targeted policemen who were providing security for demolition work at an old building nearby. Most of the casualties were policemen.

Lahore is the provincial capital of Punjab. The head of the provincial government, Shahbaz Sharif, condemned the attack.

Lahore has faced scores of terror attacks in recent years. A suicide bombing there killed over 70 people on Easter last year.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck near a police team in the eastern city of Lahore Monday killing at least 26 and wounding another 54, many of them police officers. An outlawed Taliban faction claimed responsibility.

Senior police officer Haider Ashraf said a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted police guarding a demolition site at Kot Lakhpat’s vegetable market on the outskirts of Lahore.

Ashraf said it was believed earlier that the bomb was in a car, but it was later discovered that the vehicle belonged to a police officer, among the eight officers killed.

He said many of 54 wounded are policemen and several bystanders were wounded by the impact of the powerful blast. Ashraf added that near the blast site a high rise building houses important information technology offices but the apparent target was the police gathering.

The outlawed militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming they used a suicide bomber on a motorcycle.

Rana Sanaullah, the home minister of eastern Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital, said anti-state elements who want to see instability in the country were behind the attack.

“No matter what name they use, these terrorists are one but they cannot demoralize the Pakistani nation,” said Sanaullah.

Malik Mohammad Ahmed, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said the blast occurred near the secretariat of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif but that he was not in the office oat the time.

Sharif in a statement condemned the attack and called for the best possible medical service for the survivors.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned attack in Lahore and called for those responsible to be brought to justice, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

“He supports the efforts of the government of Pakistan to fight terrorism and violent extremism with full respect for international human rights norms and obligations,” Haq said.

Lahore has faced scores of terror attacks in recent years. A suicide bombing earlier this year killed 16 police on a busy road while another killed over 70 people during Easter last year.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck near a police team in the eastern city of Lahore Monday killing at least 26 and wounded another 54, many of them police officers, an official said.

Senior police officer Haider Ashraf said a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck near police guarding a demolition site at Kot Lakhpat’s vegetable market on the outskirts of Lahore.

Ashraf said it was believed earlier that the bomb was in a car, but it was later discovered that the vehicle belonged to a police officer, among the eight officers killed.

He said many of 35 wounded are policemen and several bystanders were wounded by the impact of the powerful blast. Ashraf added that near the blast site a high rise building houses important information technology offices but the apparent target was the police gathering.

The outlawed militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming they used a suicide bomber on a motorcycle.

Rana Sanaullah, the home minister of eastern Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital, said anti-state elements who want to see instability in the country were behind the attack.

“No matter what name they use, these terrorists are one but they cannot demoralize the Pakistani nation,” said Sanaullah.

Malik Mohammad Ahmed, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said the blast occurred near the secretariat of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif but that he was not in the office oat the time.

Sharif in a statement condemned the attack and called for the best possible medical service for the survivors.

Lahore has faced scores of terror attacks in recent years. A suicide bombing earlier this year killed 16 police on a busy road while another killed over 70 people during Easter last year.

Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani officials say a car bomb has killed 12 people and wounded 25 in the eastern city of Lahore.

A statement from Malik Mohammad Ahmed, a spokesman for government of the eastern Punjab province, says the car bomb struck an old vegetable market in the neighborhood of Kot Lakhpat on Lahore's outskirts on Monday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police officer Kashif Aslam says the bombing targeted policemen who were providing security for demolition work at an old building nearby. Most of the casualties were policemen.

Lahore is the provincial capital of Punjab. The head of the provincial government, Shahbaz Sharif, condemned the attack.

Lahore has faced scores of terror attacks in recent years. A suicide bombing there killed over 70 people on Easter last year.
At least 26 people are killed and over 50 others are injured in a suicide car bombing in southern Lahore.