At least 13 people were killed and 85 injured when a suicide bomber struck Monday evening around 6pm outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore during a protest, police officials said.

Inspector General of Police (IG) Punjab Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera confirmed that six police officials were among the dead, including two senior officers.

85 people were also injured in the attack, which he said had targetted police officials present at the site.

The Jamat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police personnel at site of attack. -DawnNews

"The suicide attacker was on foot," Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Chief Dr Mohammad Iqbal had revealed earlier.

SSP Operations Zahid Gondal of Punjab Police and DIG Traffic Lahore Capt (retd) Ahmad Mobin were among those killed in the attack.

Hours earlier, DIG Mobin had been seen on television, mediating with the protesters gathered at the site.

DIG Traffic Lahore Capt (retd) Ahmad Mobin

Mobin was reportedly at the site to negotiate with protesters for an end to the sit-in and to clear the area.

A large group of chemists and pharmaceutical manufacturers were gathered in front of the provincial assembly to protest a government crackdown against the sale of illegal drugs. There was a significant presence of law enforcers in the area while the protest was ongoing.

Up to 400 people had attended the protest, according to an AFP reporter who was on the scene when the explosion occurred.

Map of the area.

Rescue services, including ambulances and fire tenders, reached the scene soon after the attack. An emergency was also declared in all hospitals of Lahore. Majority of the casualties were shifted to Mayo Hospital and Ganga Ram Hospital.

A damaged DSNG at the scene of the attack.

Contingents of Pakistan Army and Rangers also reached the site.

The security forces cordoned off the area with tents, with the inner cordon taken over by Army personnel. Forensic teams were collecting evidence and had started initial investigations.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and reiterated Pakistan is in decisive fight against terrorism while praising the sacrifices of the slain security personnel.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa instructed local military commanders and intelligence agencies to provide all necessary assistance to civilian authorities and arrest those responsible, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) read.

Terror alert

NACTA notification.

In a Feb 7 notification addressing the Home Secretary, Punjab, the Provincial Police Officer and DG Pak Rangers Punjab, the National Counterterrorism Authority (NACTA) had warned of a possible terrorist attack in Lahore.

NACTA had directed that all vital installations, including important buildings, hospitals and schools, be kept under strict vigilance.

"Extreme vigilance and heightened security measures are suggested to avoid any untoward incident," the notification added.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that maximum preparations were made after the threat alert was received.

“The spot where the blast took place is always under threat. Even if there was no alert, strict security measures are always taken in the area.”</s>14 Feb, LAHORE, Pakistan: A suicide bomber struck police escorting a protest rally in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 60 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction.

The blast ripped through the crowd of hundreds of pharmacists, who were protesting new amendments to a law governing drug sales. Six police officers, including a former provincial counterterrorism chief, were among those killed, police said.

Police initially said the attacker was on a motorcycle, but provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah later said that closed-circuit footage revealed the bomber was on foot.

Sameer Ahmad, the Lahore deputy commissioner, said at least 13 people were killed and 58 wounded, including nine who were in critical condition.

Live TV registered a loud bang and showed smoke and fire billowing up as people ran away, some of them carrying the wounded.

“We just couldn’t understand what happened,” Tufail Nabi told local Geo News TV. “It was as if some big building collapsed,” he said as he limped away.

A group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed the attack in a text message, saying it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against Islamic militants in tribal regions along the Afghan border.

The group, which claimed a number of large attacks last year, is one of several splinter factions from the Pakistani Taliban, which has repeatedly targeted security forces and religious minorities. In recent years, Pakistan has launched several offensives against the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the tribal regions.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to continue fighting terrorism “until we liberate our people of this cancer and avenge those who have laid down their lives for us.”

Washington condemned the Lahore attack and extended condolences to the victims and their families. “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their fight against terrorists and remain committed to the security of the South Asia region,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a roadside bomb killed two members of a bomb disposal squad on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, said police officer Abdur Razzaq Cheema. Another eight people were wounded in the explosion, he said.

A Taliban-linked group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, said it planted the bomb.AP</s>LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say businesses are closed across much of the Punjab province in mourning for 13 people killed in a suicide bombing claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction.

Police officer Nazar Hayat says shops were closed Tuesday, a day after the attack in the provincial capital, Lahore. The bomber targeted police escorting a rally by pharmacists protesting amendments to a law on drug pricing.

The dead included six police officers. Nearly 60 people were wounded. The attack was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which said it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against militants in tribal regions near the Afghan border.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan's cultural capital of Lahore on Tuesday mourned the victims of a suicide bombing the previous day that killed 13 people. Markets and businesses remained closed across much of the country's eastern Punjab province while flags at government buildings were at half-staff.

Lawyers also boycotted court proceedings in the city to protest the attack. The bombing raised concerns whether foreign players would be able to take part in the Pakistan Super League cricket final, which is to be held in Lahore next month.

A breakaway Taliban faction, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, which targeted policemen escorting a rally by pharmacists protesting amendments to a law on drug pricing.

Security officials said they were looking into whether the bombing sought to derail foreign players from participating in the March 5 cricket final of the Pakistan Super League, due in Lahore. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. Lahore, a historic cultural and regional center, is about 350 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of the capital, Islamabad.

Mourners attended funerals for the victims, including 23-year Fatima Jamshed, who had gone out shopping for her wedding. She was passing by the pharmacists' rally and was killed in the explosion.

Ghulam Abbas, the father of another victim, Ali Hassan, said his son went out shopping but his body came back in a coffin.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was in Lahore in a gesture of support for the victims' families, visited the home of a slain police officer to offer his condolences. Seven of the 13 killed were policemen while the rest were civilians.

The Pakistani military said army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, visited the wounded and families of the victims. It said several suspects were arrested late Monday over the bombing, including an unspecified number of Afghans. The statement did not elaborate.</s>A suicide bomber struck police escorting a protest rally in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 60 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction.

The blast ripped through the crowd of hundreds of pharmacists, who were protesting new amendments to a law governing drug sales. Six police officers, including a former provincial counterterrorism chief, were among those killed, police said.

Police initially said the attacker was on a motorcycle, but provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah later said that closed-circuit footage revealed the bomber was on foot.

Sameer Ahmad, the Lahore deputy commissioner, said at least 13 people were killed and 58 wounded, including nine who were in critical condition.

Live TV registered a loud bang and showed smoke and fire billowing up as people ran away, some of them carrying the wounded.

“We just couldn’t understand what happened,” Tufail Nabi told local Geo News TV. “It was as if some big building collapsed,” he said as he limped away.

A group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed the attack in a text message, saying it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against Islamic militants in tribal regions along the Afghan border.

The group, which claimed a number of large attacks last year, is one of several splinter factions from the Pakistani Taliban, which has repeatedly targeted security forces and religious minorities. In recent years, Pakistan has launched several offensives against the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the tribal regions.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to continue fighting terrorism “until we liberate our people of this cancer and avenge those who have laid down their lives for us.”

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a roadside bomb killed two members of a bomb disposal squad on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, said police officer Abdur Razzaq Cheema. Another eight people were wounded, he said. A Taliban-linked group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, said it planted the bomb.</s>11 killed and more than 60 injured in a massive explosion as a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacks a protest in Pakistan

At least 11 people have been killed and 60 were wounded after a Taliban off-shoot attacked a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan.

The suicide bomber approached the pharmacists on a motorbike and detonated his device as he was passing the marchers.

Hundreds of pharmacists were demonstrating over new laws governing drugs sales when the suicide bomber struck.

Live TV registered a loud bang and showed smoke and fire billowing up as people ran away, some of them carrying the wounded. ‘We just couldn’t understand what happened,’ Tufail Nabi told local Geo News TV. ‘It was as if some big building collapsed,’ he said as he limped away.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is one of several splinter groups from the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out scores of attacks against security forces and religious minorities. In recent years, Pakistan has had launched several offensives against the Taliban and other Islamic militant groups in the tribal regions.

Police had cordoned off the area on Mall Road, one of the city’s main arteries, as witnesses fled amid fears of a second blast, with images of the injured being carried away shown by local media.</s>Markets and businesses were closed across much of Pakistan's Punjab province Tuesday in mourning for 13 people killed in a suicide bombing claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction, police said.

Flags at government buildings flew at half-mast, and lawyers boycotted court proceedings a day after the attack in the provincial capital, Lahore, said police officer Nazar Hayat.

The bomber targeted police escorting a rally by pharmacists protesting amendments to a law on drug pricing. Official funerals were held Tuesday for seven police, including two senior officers, who were killed in the attack.

Nearly 60 people were wounded in the bombing.

The attack was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which said it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against militants in tribal regions near the Afghan border.</s>Pakistanis Tuesday mourned the victims of a Taliban-claimed suicide bomb in Lahore, as the death toll rose to 15 and the city's residents railed at the government for failing to protect them.

The chief minister of Punjab state Shahbaz Sharif declared a day of mourning after Monday's blast on Lahore's Mall Road, one of the city's main arteries, at rush hour during a busy protest.

At least 15 people were killed, emergency official Ahmad Raza told AFP, including six police officers, while up to 87 were injured.

The toll could have been much higher, Raza said, but for two vehicles -- a TV news van and a minivan belonging to the protesters -- which absorbed much of the impact of the blast.

The Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the assault, which came three days after it announced it would carry out a series of attacks on government installations around the country.

A spokesman for the group warned in a statement that Monday's bomb was "just the start".

The attack underscored the challenges faced by Pakistan in its push to stamp out militancy, even as security dramatically improved in 2015 and 2016.

Local groups like the umbrella Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) retain the ability to carry out spectacular attacks, despite a military-led crackdown on extremism.

Lahore residents vented their fury at the militants and the government at the blast site early Tuesday.

"They (the militants) have no link with Islam nor do they believe in any religion, the only thing they know is killing people, this is utterly an act of terrorism," Tariq Saleem told AFP.

Nadeem Akhter called on the government to do more to bring the situation under control. "Our children and people are being killed in these attacks," he said.

Both British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew and US ambassador David Hale branded the attack "cowardly" in separate statements, expressing support for the victims.

Lahore, the country's cultural capital, suffered one of Pakistan's deadliest attacks during 2016 -- a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar suicide bomb in a park last Easter that killed more than 70 including many children.

But such incidents have been rare in the city in recent years.

Shortly after Monday's attack two members of a bomb disposal team were killed in Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province, while trying to defuse a device.

It was not clear if the Quetta bomb was linked to the Lahore attack.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan: At least 13 people were killed and 82 injured when an apparent Taliban suicide blast ripped through a protest in Lahore on Monday, Pakistani officials said, shattering the city’s growing sense of security. Police cordoned off the area near the crowded Mall Road, one of the city’s main arteries, as witnesses fled in fear of a second explosion. Local media showed images of the injured being carried away. The road had been packed with hundreds of people, mainly chemists, protesting provincial government plans to further regulate the medical sector. “The blast was so powerful. I saw the injured and bodies, saw flames surrounding the blast site, people were crying,” witness Muhammad Tariq told Agence France-Presse. Chief of police in Punjab province of which Lahore is capital, said at least 13 people including six policemen were killed in the attack. Rescue officials said that at least 82 wounded people had been rushed to city hospitals. The attack “seems to be a suicide blast,” senior police official Amin Wains said, adding it had apparently targeted police trying to regulate the protest. The Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the assault, which came three days after it announced it would carry out a series of attacks on government installations around the country. A spokesman for the group warned in a statement that Monday’s blast was “just the start.”</s>Pakistanis call for greater security as they mourn 13 victims of suicide attack while flags fly at half mast in Punjab.

On Monday afternoon, 20-year-old goldsmith Hassan Ahmed was heading back home from work on his motorbike and passing by Lahore's busy Mall Road.

Hundreds of pharmacists were rallying against changes to a drug sale law, outside of the provincial assembly building.

"That is exactly when the suicide bomber detonated the bomb, and we lost Hassan," Saqib Rehman, Hassan's longtime friend, told Al Jazeera.

"[Hassan] was the sole bread-winner of his family of 10. He passed away at a very young age. Why was there not enough security to stop cars and bikes from passing by?"

At least 13 people were killed in the attack, including seven police officers and six civilians.

Within hours, the Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the blast.

A spokesman for the group warned in a statement that Monday's bomb was "just the start".

Pakistanis across the Pubjab province mourned the victims on Tuesday, blaming poor security measures.

Most of the markets and businesses were closed and lawyers boycotted court proceedings in the provincial capital.

Punjab's government declared one day of mourning with the national flag lowered to half-mast at all government buildings.

Lahore residents are "furious" at the armed groups conducting attacks, Rehman said, adding that "people here feel the attacks will increase in the near future".

"If this suicide bomber could conduct an attack this easily, it tells us that we are not safe or protected."

"The attacker was not targeting civilians, he went directly towards the police officials who were negotiating with the protesters," said Ashad Dogar, a crime reporter for The News, a local newspaper.

Dogar had been covering the rally and was present at the time of the attack.

"In a situation like this where there are about 2,000 people gathered together, the security measures were close to zero," Dogar told Al Jazeera.

"No one was being checked. Anyone could come and participate in the rally. The suicide attacker walked in without any hurdles and successfully conducted the attack."

In 2016, Lahore suffered one of Pakistan's deadliest assaults when a suicide attack in a park killed more than 70 people, including many children.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, which claimed that attack, said it was targeting members of Pakistan's Christian minority who had gathered there to celebrate Easter Sunday.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar also claimed responsibility for a bombing at a hospital in Quetta that killed 74 people in August last year.
At least 13 people, including six police officers, are killed and 85 are injured after a bomb explodes at a protest rally in Lahore, Punjab. The Pakistani Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims responsibility.