LAHORE: A bomb explosion on Monday evening in Charing Cross, near Punjab Assembly killed at least 13 and injured 83 others.

Mushtaq Sukhera, inspector general of police in Punjab province, said five police officers were among the dead when an explosion rocked a protest organized by Pakistan's chemists and pharmaceuticals manufacturers.

"It was a suicide attack. The bomber exploded himself when successful negotiations were underway between police officials and the protesters," Sukhera told reporters.

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Punjab police spokesman Nayab Haider confirmed that DIG traffic Lahore Captain Ahmed Mubeen and SSP Operations Zahid Ikram Gondal were martyred in the blast.

Earlier on 7th February, National Counter Terrorism Authority Pakistan (NACTA) issued terrorism alert. A letter was then send to Interior ministry, I.G Police Punjab and DG Rangers.

International new agency Reuters asserted that, a spokesman for Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, called Reuters and claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

The militant group also warned the Lahore attack was the start of a new campaign against government departments. "You are on our target across the country," Reuters added in a statement.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar had also claimed responsibility for an Easter Day bombing in Lahore last year that killed more than 70 people in a public park.

—AajNews/Reuters