A car packed with explosives exploded on Tuesday as it sped through a crowded market in Afghanistan's eastern province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people, officials said, one of the most violent attacks in the country in a year, according to The Associated Press.
The huge explosion took place not far from the porous border with Pakistan's North Waziristan region, where the military has been attacking hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban in the past few weeks, prompting militants to retreat toward Afghanistan, the AP reported.
The explosion destroyed dozens of mud-brick shops, flipped cars over and stripped trees of their branches, brutally underscoring the country's instability as U.S. troops prepare to leave by the end of the year and politicians in Kabul struggle for power after a disputed presidential runoff, according to the AP.
"The number of victims may increase," said General Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman, according to the AP.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack as a "despicable criminal act," which was a serious violation of international law, his spokesman said, the AP reported. Many of the victims were buried under the rubble, said Mohammad Reza Kharoti, administrative chief of Urgun district.
"It was a very brutal suicide attack against poor civilians," Kharoti said, according to the AP. "There was no military base nearby."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, and the Taliban issued a statement denying involvement, saying they "strongly condemn attacks on local people," the AP reported.
The attack comes at an uneasy time in Afghanistan as the country recounts votes from a disputed presidential election which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt, but the Taliban distanced themselves from Tuesday's attack, according to the AP. The movement's leaders have ordered militants not to target civilians.
"The truth behind this attack will become clear after an investigation, but we clearly announce that it was not done by the Mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement, the AP reported. "The Mujahedeen do not conduct such attacks and such attacks do not bring any benefit to them."
