At least 50 people have been killed in a car bomb blast at a busy market in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan, the district governor says. Officials say the assailant drove a 4x4 vehicle into the market in Orgun district and then detonated the explosives. The market was crowded at the time of the attack.Orgun is one of Paktika's safest areas, though members of the Haqqani network are thought to have a presence there.
The district governor of Orgun District, Mohammad Raza Kharoti, said most of those killed were shopkeepers and civilians "and people who were busy doing Ramadan shopping".
A spokesman for Afghanistan's defense ministry earlier said that soldiers had recovered 40 bodies from the rubble. General Zahir Azimi said, "Our soldiers are still trying to recover bodies. Almost all of the shops have fallen."
Officials say that at least 30 people were also injured in the attack.
Eyewitnesses saw police and security forces pursuing the attacker before he entered the busy market and detonated the explosives.