UPDATE 2 - Explosion hits upmarket area in Pakistan's second city

UPDATES WITH VARYING REPORTS INTO NATURE OF BLAST

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Conflicting reports emerged on Thursday about a blast which killed at least nine people and injured dozens more in Lahore.

The death toll from the explosion which hit an under-construction building in the northeastern Pakistani city rose to nine when one of the injured died in hospital, police and local media said.

However, different police and government officials throughout the day issued varying reports about what may have caused the blast.

Finally, the counterterrorism unit of the Punjab police, which initially said explosive material had been used in the blast, changed its stance hours later, declaring the explosion to be the result of gas leak.

Mohammad Iqbal, head of the unit, told reporters detailed investigations and eyewitnesses accounts suggested it was “a gas cylinder blast”.

Initially Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters eight people had been killed and 21 injured -- four of them critically -- in the 12.30 p.m. local time (0730GMT) explosion.

However, a senior bomb disposal official told Anadolu Agency he could not corroborate the police claim of a gas leak at this stage.

“We are waiting for the forensic report. Once we have the report, only then we will be able to say something with authority," the official said, wishing not to be identified as he was not allowed to speak to the media.

The blast shattered the windows of nearby buildings and set vehicles on fire. TV images showed ambulances and police vehicles rushing to the scene and blood-soaked clothing and broken furniture strewn across surrounding streets.

On Feb. 13, a suicide bomber killed more than 20 people during a demonstration outside the Punjab province parliament in Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city.

Thursday’s explosion came a day after security forces launched a counter-terrorism operation following a spate of attacks by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Daesh and associated groups that left more than 100 people dead.