A hospital in Afghanistan has been hit by a huge car bomb, with children and the elderly among the dead.
There are conflicting reports about the death toll, but a local offical told the BBC that 27 people were killed, adding the toll could be higher as many people took away the bodies of relatives.
Doctors and nurses were said to be among the dead. Dozens were hurt in the blast, some critically.
The blast destroyed the hospital building in Logar province near the border with Pakistan.
Soldiers were sent to the scene to rescue those trapped beneath the ruins.
One report says the hospital may not have been the intended target, and says a bomber detonated the device because the police had tried to stop his car.
Officials blamed the Taliban, but a spokesman denied it, saying the group did not attack public places and adding the blast was caused by "someone with an agenda".
A BBC correspondent in Kabul says the Taliban always distances itself from attacks with large numbers of civilian casualties.
Provincial official Din Mohammad Darwaish said the death toll could well increase as there were people buried under rubble.
A large number of people had been gathering at the clinic, in Azra district, for weekly treatment, many of them women and children, he said.
The attack comes a day after 10 people were killed and 24 injured in a blast in the northern Kunduz province.
On Wednesday US President Barack Obama announced a partial troop pullout from Afghanistan.
