Earlier TOLO News reported that the suicide bomb was detonated in a crowd of protesters who were calling for the resignation of the police chief of the Achin district, an area close to a crossing into neighboring Pakistan.
Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the local provincial council, previously stated, as quoted by Reuters, that at least 45 had died or were wounded in the blast and had been taken to local hospitals. He added that the death toll could rise.
Casualty figures vary: the AP cited sources as saying that the blast had claimed the lives of at least 20 people.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.