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A nail bomb device detonated in the central Victor Hugo Area around 5.30pm local time.

A man, thought to be in his 30s and wearing a mask, reportedly dropped it in a suitcase outside a bakery.

Cops are now hunting him and have since launched a terrorism probe, the French prosecutor has confirmed.

Along with nails, the bomb was packed with screws and bolts, LyonMag reports.

Thirteen people were injured by the blast with an eight-year-old girl among them.

(Image: TWITTER/AMELIE BERTRAND) (Image: AFP/GETTY IMAGES) (Image: AFP/GETTY IMAGES) (Image: TWITTER/INKEDORIO)

Police have sealed off the area where the wounded are being treated – with one of the casualties thought to be an eight-year-old girl.

Soldiers have also descended on the city centre and several fire engines have arrived on the scene.

President Emmanuel Macron confirmed there had been an “attack” in the city in an interview this afternoon.

Cops have urged locals to avoid the area as they launch an investigation.

(Image: TWITTER/FABIEN FARGE) (Image: TWITTER/VIL1_PETITLAP1) (Image: TWITTER/MIDESI69)

One local shopkeeper said: "I heard a big boom, I wondered what it was. I went out."

Another hotel owner saw "metal plates on the floor as a kind of circuit board and scattered papers".

He added: "We saw a very panicked woman and a man with a bleeding leg taking refuge in a clothing business."