At least 30 people were killed and nearly 100 others wounded as a suicide car bomb went off in a marketplace in Urgun district of eastern Afghan province of Paktika on Tuesday, said a provincial source.
"We still cannot provide the exact number of causalities. The initial reports by our security forces said that 30 civilians were killed and nearly 100 others injured," the source told Xinhua anonymously.
The blast took place at midday, he said.
The government troops immediately cordoned off the area shortly after the blast in the province, bordering Pakistan.
Police worked to keep people from gathering at the scene for fears that there might be a second blast while ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the victims to the district's hospitals.
The blast caused a plume of grey smoke to rise above the scene.
No group claimed responsibility.