At least 33 people were killed when a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up at a bank in eastern Afghanistan.
President Ashraf Ghani said the blast was claimed by the Islamic State group.
The attack marks a major escalation in the country’s fight against an affiliate of the extremist group which now holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate.
It also comes as Afghan security forces fight against the Taliban after US and Nato forces ended their combat mission in the country at the start of the year, yet another challenge for the war-ravaged nation.
The attack in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nagarhar province, targeted a crowd of soldiers and civilians gathered outside the bank to receive their monthly salaries.
The blast killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100 others, said Dr Hamayon Zaheer, the head of Jalalabad’s hospital.
Hours after the attack, President Ghani blamed Islamic State for the attack.
If we don’t stand on the same line united, these people are going to destroy us
“In the horrific incident in Nangarhar, who took responsibility? The Taliban didn’t claim responsibility. Daesh claimed responsibility for it,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.
Mr Ghani warned before that IS was starting to establish a presence in Afghanistan. He used his visit to the US last month to reiterate his concerns that the group was making inroads into Afghanistan.
“If we don’t stand on the same line united, these people are going to destroy us,” he told the 600 people gathered at the provincial government headquarters in Faizabad.
He called on the Taliban to join with the Kabul government, and said that any Taliban who switched allegiance to IS would earn the wrath of Afghanistan’s religious leaders.
Meanwhile, another bombing in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province killed one civilian and wounded two others, authorities said.
The Pakistani govern-ment, which is co-ordinating with Afghanistan on counter-terrorism issues, condemned yesterday’s attacks.
A statement released by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry called the bombings cowardly and indiscriminate, and said attacks against civilians have no justification under any circumstances.