A suicide attack on a market in the eastern Afghanistan province of Paktika left at least 89 people dead and many others injured.
An Afghan official said that the suicide bomber blew up the car while it sat near a market full of people shopping ahead of the Ramadan festival, BBC News reports.
A defence ministry spokesman said that many of the bodies recovered from the aftermath are women and children. The area continues to be cleared as the search continues for survivors and bodies.
Gen. Zahir Azimi said that so far nearly 42 people have been rushed to the hospital following one of the most devastating suicide bombings in years.
According to CBS News, the Taliban in the area have denied involvement in the attack and no other organization has yet come forward to claim responsibility.
"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," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, notes Reuters.
"The Mujahedeen do not conduct such attacks and such attacks do not bring any benefit to them."
The group was willing to claim responsibility for a roadside bomb in Kabul, however. The attack killed two people and left five injured from President Hamid Karzai's media office.