Lahore Terror Explosion Video And Photos: Deaths, Injuries Reported In Pakistan Blast As Hundreds Demonstrate

UPDATE: 10:43 a.m. EST — Police arrested a suspect Monday after an explosion in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday that killed and wounded several protesters, Capital TV reported. The suspect's identity was not publicly released, though he was male and en route to a police station for further questioning, according to news station SAMAA.

Original story:

More than a dozen people were killed during a protest in Pakistan on Monday, according to multiple reports. Hundreds had gathered in the city of Lahore to demonstrate against the country's drug policy, to which amendments had recently been made, local news outlet Geo TV reported.

The high powered blast was detonated near the Punjab Assembly building around Mall Road.

A video from the explosion was published shortly afterward. The video can be viewed by clicking here.

Local officials were investigating what caused the explosion and did not immediately say it was terrorism related. However, a local journalist tweeted that there were reports the explosions happened because of two suicide bombers.

Shortly after that, a journalist working for the Associated Press tweeted that wing of the Taliban said it launched the apparent terror attack.

Retired DIG Traffic Lahore Capt. Ahmad Mobin was among the dead, reported Dawn. At least one other law enforcement official — Senior Superintendent of Police Zahid Gondal — was killed from the explosion, as well.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo TV that suicide bombers were to blame for the attack.

The protest that drew hundreds of demonstrators centered on an amendment made to the Punjab Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2017. The bill, which updated Drugs Act 1976, put in place sever penalties for drug stores found to be selling "fake, illegal or spurious drugs," Pakistan news outlet Nation reported. As a result, pharmacies in Punjab were closed Monday.

Photos from the scene of the deadly explosion surfaces on social media Monday. A selection of them follows below.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, the faction of the Taliban in Pakistan that claimed responsibility for Monday's deadly explosion, "has staged multiple attacks in the region targeting civilians, religious minorities, military personnel, and law enforcement, and was responsible for the killing of two Pakistani employees of the US Consulate in Peshawar in early March 2016," according to the U.S. Department of State.

The State Department officially designated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as a terrorist group last year.