At least 18 people were killed and 40 others were injured in a blast outside a government office in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The "suicide attack carried by a bomber" occurred on Tuesday outside National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office in Mardan city, Dawn online quoted Deputy Inspector General (Mardan division) Saeed Wazir as saying.
A security guard posted at the office stopped the bomber at the gate after which he detonated his suicide vest, the DIG said.
The toll was expected to rise further as a large number of people were critically injured, the official said.
The area was cordoned off as rescue and security sources rushed to the site. The injured were shifted to Mardan medical complex.
A Mardan district police officer said it was too early to determine the nature of the blast.