Suicide Bomb Attack Kills 33 In Afghanistan

A suicide bomber has killed at least 33 people and wounded 100 others in an attack outside a bank where government workers collect salaries in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.

Targeting a crowd of military personnel and civilians, the attacker detonated an explosive-laden motorcycle in the heart of a crowded commercial district.

Dr Najeebullah Kamawal, head of Nangarhar's provincial hospital, said: "Thirty-three dead bodies and more than 100 wounded were brought to the hospital."

Another blast was reported near a shrine in Jalalabad, but no one was hurt.

Police chief Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, told a news conference: "It was a suicide attack. It is early to say what kind of suicide bomber."

Taliban insurgents denied responsibility, although they have said they were behind earlier attacks coinciding with the sharp drawdown of foreign troops.

The group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said: "It was an evil act. We strongly condemn it."

For the first time since the hardline Islamist Taliban movement was ousted from power in 2001, Afghan forces are fighting with little support from NATO troops.

NATO, which at its peak had 130,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, has only a few thousand left, involved mainly in training and special operations.

A third explosion was also heard in Jalalabad, but it was later reported as a controlled explosion by the Afghan army in Nangarhar.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.