Afghan suicide bomber kills 33 and injures dozens in Jalalabad

A suicide bomb attack in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has killed at least 33 people and injured dozens.

There appeared to be another explosion though it remains to be confirmed.

The motorbike-borne bomber blew himself up outside a bank at about 08:30 am local time.

Most of the injured were civilians, local police chief General Fazal Ahmed Sherzad said.

"Dozens of people are killed and wounded and ambulances have not reached the spot so far," an eyewitness named Mohammad Ayub told Pajhok Afghan News.

The death toll is higher as the bomb went off in a busy market on the first working day of the week, which is the norm in Afghanistan.

The second explosion is said to have taken place near the Da Afghanistan Bank, which is just 60 metres away from the site of the first blast. No casualties have been reported from the second explosion.

No group including the Afghan Taliban, which has been waging a deadly Islamist insurgency in the country, has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet.