IS claims responsibilty for the attack, says Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. PHOTO: AFP
Ghani's government has repeatedly raised the ominous prospect of IS making inroads into Afghanistan, though the group that has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have seen defections to the group in recent months, with some self-styled IS insurgents voicing their disaffection with their supreme leader Mullah Omar, who has not been seen since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
On Saturday a suicide bomber killed 33 people and wounded 115 others outside the state-run Kabul Bank in the eastern city of Jalalabad as government officials were drawing their salaries, in the deadliest attack since November.
The scene of the bombing showed the gruesome scale of the carnage with victims lying in pools of blood and body parts scattered across the ground.
"Who claimed responsibility for horrific attack in Nangarhar today? The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the attack, Daesh (IS) claimed responsibility," Ghani said, without offering any further details.
A person purporting to be an IS spokesperson said in a call to AFP that the group was behind the bombing. An online posting allegedly from IS made the same claim, which could not be immediately verified.
"Thirty-three dead bodies and more than 100 wounded were brought to the hospital," Dr Najeebullah Kamawal, head of the provincial hospital, told AFP.
The UN gave a higher toll, saying 35 people had been killed and provincial government spokesperson Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said 115 people were wounded, four of them critically.
Separately, two explosives-rigged motorcycles were discovered in Jalalabad and destroyed with controlled detonations, the interior ministry said.
Ghani strongly condemned the suicide attack, in which children were among those killed, his office said in a statement.
"Carrying out terrorist attacks in cities and public places are the most cowardly acts of terror by terrorists targeting innocent civilians," he said.
The attack comes as Afghanistan braces for what is expected to be a bloody push by the Taliban -- still the most potent threat to the government -- at the start of the spring fighting season.
However, the Taliban swiftly denied responsibility for Saturday's carnage -- as it often does for attacks with large civilian casualties.
PM Nawaz condemns attack
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack in Jalalabad and extended his condolences on the tragic incident.
He said that terrorism was the common enemy of both the countries and that joint steps were being taken to eradicate it.
"Such acts of violence would not weaken our resolve to take action against them till the last of terrorists and their supporters are eliminated," he said.
He further added that terrorism would soon be eradicated from the region, which in turn would usher in an era of peace, stability, and prosperity.
Pakistan targeted these terrorists in their hideouts and dismantled their networks with effective strategy.
The premier concluded that Pakistan would be happy to provide any assistance to Afghanistan to successfully fight terrorism, he added.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam tweeted that Pakistan condemns the deadly terrorist attack.
Pakistan condemns the deadlly terrorist attack in Jalalabad this morning. There is no justification for targeting of innocent civilians
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 18, 2015
Our deepest sympathies and condolences to families of victims. Pakistanis, themselves victims of terrorism, feel the pain of Afghan people
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 18, 2015
"The announcement by the IS today is alarming, if verified, and would mean that Afghanistan should prepare for a bloody summer -- maybe the bloodiest in the past 14 years," Haroon Mir, a Kabul-based political analyst, told AFP.
"We have been seeing Taliban commanders switching allegiance to IS and raising their black flag... but the IS presence has never been confidently confirmed and we still have to be cautious about claims made in the name of IS."
The militants have stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets since Washington announced a delay in troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
The uptick in attacks in recent days has taken a heavy toll on ordinary Afghans.
The number of civilians killed and wounded in Afghanistan jumped 22 per cent in 2014, a recent UN report said, as NATO troops withdrew from combat.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) attributed the rise to an intensification in ground fighting, resulting in a total of 10,548 civilian casualties last year.
In a statement UNAMA condemned Saturday's attack and the "indiscriminate tactic it represents, which is exacting such an unacceptable toll on Afghan civilians".
NATO's combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force has stayed on to train and support the local security forces.
US President Barack Obama last month backpedalled on plans to shrink the US force in Afghanistan this year by nearly half, an overture to the country's new reform-minded leader, Ghani.
Hosting Ghani at the White House for their first presidential face-to-face meeting, Obama agreed to keep the current level of 9,800 US troops until the end of 2015.
The Taliban, who have waged a deadly insurgency since they were ousted from power in late 2001, warned that the announcement would damage any prospects of peace talks as they vowed to continue fighting.
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