The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility a bombing that a health official said killed at least 26 people in the eastern city of Lahore.
Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Mohammad Khorasani sent an e-mail to media saying the blast on a busy road in the Punjab province capital "was a motorbike suicide bombing."
Police cordoned off the area and ambulances rushed to the scene to carry victims to hospitals.
Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir told a news conference that at least 26 people were killed and 49 injured.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a press conference that most of the casualties were police officers and some bystanders.
Lahore has been the scene of deadly militant attacks in the past decade, although they have been less frequent in recent years.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
