A car packed with explosives exploded yesterday as it sped through a crowded market in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people, officials said, one of the most violent attacks in the country in a year.

The huge explosion took place not far from the porous border with Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, where the military has been attacking hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban in the past few weeks, prompting militants to retreat toward Afghanistan.

The number of victims may increase

“The number of victims may increase,” said General Zahir Azimi, a Defence Min-istry spokesman.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack as a “despicable criminal act,” which was a serious violation of international law, his spokesman said.

The attack comes at an uneasy time in Afghanistan as the country recounts votes from a disputed presidential election which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

A local deputy police chief, Nissar Ahmad Abdulrahimzai, said police had been tipped off about the car and were chasing it when it exploded.

“The explosion was so big it destroyed many shops. Dozens of people are trapped under the roofs,” Mohammad Raza Kharoti, the district governor, told Reuters.

In Kabul, a remote-control bomb concealed by a roadside killed two employees of President Hamid Karzai’s media office and wounded five, police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.