Mardan blast: 18 killed, 25 injured (Update)

At least 18 people have been killed and 25 injured in a blast near Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office on Nisatta Road in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Dawn, blast took place when the office was crowded with people.

Deputy Inspector General Mardan Division Saeed Wazir said DawnNews it was a "suicide attack carried out by a bomber".

He said that a security guard posted at the office stopped the bomber at the gate, after which he detonated his suicide vest, adding that the attacker was on a motorbike and rammed it into the gate after being denied entry, he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the blast, and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.

The interior minister also sought a report from the concerned officials.

Human body remains are strewn across the blast site. The death toll is feared to rise.