A suicide blast killed at least 15 Afghans and wounded more than 25 others on Tuesday near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, according to a spokesman for NATO-led forces.

The attack was quickly claimed. The Taliban, who have been fighting foreign and Afghan troops since they were overthrown in 2001, said one of their militants blew himself up in the small town of Khogyani in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The number of victims was provided by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Afghan troops are among the victims.

The suicide bomber detonated the explosives amid a crowd attending an anti-drugs meeting. There were numerous officials and villagers at the meeting and many of them were hurt by the powerful explosion. The meeting was being held in the open in front of the district headquarters, according to AFP.

Major Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the ISAF, said the Taliban used small arms and rocket-propelled grenades in the attack. After creating confusion, the suicide bomber was sent in and blew himself off in the middle of the crowd.  

An eyewitness said he saw a young boy carrying white papers approach the crowd.

"All of a sudden I saw a big, red flame from among the crowd where the boy was standing and a big explosion followed," the witness told French news agency AFP.

The attack comes a few days after the assassination attempt targeting Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai. Recently, Afghanistan’s intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh has said Kharzai was actually warned about the assassination plot.

Mr Karzai escaped unharmed from the attack, but three people died.