At least 30 people were killed and 70 wounded as a car bomb blast rocked a crowded road in Pul-e-Alam, capital of Afghanistan's eastern Logar province on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported citing an unnamed source.

The source told Xinhua the death toll may rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition.

The accident happened at around 6:50 p.m. local time when a car packed with explosives detonated in Logar's capital of Pul-e Alam near the house of the former head of the provincial council, Didar Lawang, the spokesman for Logar's governor, said.

The house also operated as a guesthouse and the blast had struck just as guests were breaking their fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, according to the head of Logar's provincial council, Hasibullah Stanekzai.

According to Xinhua, most of the victims were students who came from Logar districts to attend a university entrance exam earlier in the day.

Ambulances from private hospitals, nearby districts and the capital of Kabul were rushing to the Pul-e-Alam to help the victims. Pul-e-Alam is around 70 km south of Kabul.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. And a spokesman for the Taliban said in response to questions from Reuters news agency that they were looking into the matter.

Violence in Afghanistan has escalated in recent weeks after United States President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would withdraw troops by September 11 to end two decades of foreign military presence.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)