A deadly car bomb has hit a hospital in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province. But there is confusion about the number of casualties, with officials saying between 20 and 60 people have died.
The hospital building was destroyed and people buried under rubble. Casualties included women, children and elderly.
The Afghan health ministry said the attack was unprecedented and inhumane. Officials blamed the Taliban, but a Taliban spokesman said the movement did not target civilians.
The blast was caused by "someone with an agenda", he said.
However, the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says the Taliban is always careful to distance itself from major attacks with large numbers of civilian casualties.
Earlier the health ministry said 60 people had died in the attack, but some officials have since revised that figure down.
Officials in Logar province said the revised death toll was 45, though officials in Kabul said the toll could be between 20 and 25.
An intelligence official said the vehicle had been detonated close to the hospital after police had tried to stop it, and that it was not clear what the actual target was.
Provincial official Din Mohammad Darwaish said the death toll could well increase as there were still people buried.
Soldiers have been dispatched to the scene to try to pull out those that are trapped.
The attack follows a UN report earlier this month indicating a recent rise in civilian casualties.
It said May was the deadliest month for civilians in Afghanistan since records began in 2007, with 368 killed.
It added that 2,777 civilians died in 2010, making it the worst year, with three-quarters of the deaths blamed on insurgents.-bbc
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