At least 20 Afghans were killed and dozens others were injured as a suicide bomber targeted an Afghan government official at a funeral on Tuesday.

At least 20 Afghans were killed and dozens others were injured as a suicide bomber targeted an Afghan government official at a funeral on Tuesday.

The local administration said up to 25 people had died and other officials warned the toll could rise after the devastating blast in the remote district of Dur Baba in the eastern province of Nangarhar near the Pakistan border.

District governor Hamisha Gul was the target and was wounded in the blast. One official said one of the governor's sons had been killed in the attack, which happened at around 2:30 pm (1000 GMT).

In Kabul, the interior ministry confirmed 20 deaths and said 50 people were wounded, including the district governor. "Some wounded people are in a critical condition, the toll might rise," spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told AFP.
Due to the remote location of the attack, casualty reports differed.

"Twenty-five people, including the son of the district governor, have been killed and 30 other people were injured," said Nangarhar provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, adding that Gul was wounded by the attacker, who came on foot.

Tuesday's bombing was one of the worst attacks of the year in Afghanistan and comes just weeks after the deadliest assault of 2012, when a group of suicide bombers killed at least 30 people in southwestern Nimroz province, on the border with Iran.