A bomb exploded during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan, on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring 59 more, according to government spokesman Malik Ahmad Khan.
Jamat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of Pakistan’s Tehreek-i Taliban (TTP) — also known as the Pakistani Taliban — claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to CNN.
The blast occurred at Charing Cross in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province and the second-largest city in the country.
Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, according to a statement obtained by CNN, saying that “such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation to stand against terrorism and our government is committed to root out this menace.”
