Five killed in suspected bomb blast in Pakistan

Lahore : At least five people have been killed and 10 wounded in a blast which appeared to have been a Taliban attack targeting a census team in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore Wednesday, officials and the militants said.

Security forces cordoned off the area on Bedian Road in the bustling capital of Punjab province after the blast, which rescuers said occurred just before 8:00 am local time. A forensics team could also be seen at the site. 

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or Pakistani Taliban) claimed responsibility for the attack in a message sent to AFP.

"It appears to have been an act of terrorism," Punjab provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah said in televised comments, though other officials cautioned they were still investigating the nature of the blast.

Punjab health minister Khawaja Imran Nazir said five people had been killed, with the toll confirmed by a security source and a Lahore administration official.

A police official said the census team had been the target, though the Pakistan Board of Statistics declined to comment. The TTP in its statement said it had carried out the attack in revenge on security forces.

Teams of enumerators backed by the military and security forces are carrying out Pakistan's first census in almost two decades, an enormous and highly charged task that could redraw the country's political map one year before national parliamentary elections.

The police official said at least 10 people had been wounded, though rescuers gave a higher figure of 18.

Some officials initially described the incident as a gas cylinder explosion, but said an investigation was ongoing. There was no immediate comment from the military.

"There is a possibility that it was a suicide attack," Lahore official Abdullah Sumbal said. 

"The census is a national duty, and we will complete this task," he added. "There was no lack of security, but you know how difficult it is to deal with suicide attacks."