At least 15 civilians were killed and 20 more were wounded in an explosion at a gathering in Gelan district, Ghazni province, on Friday afternoon, the Interior Ministry Affairs says.

The explosives were loaded on a motorbike that was parked near a house in Agho Jan village in Gelan district where a group of people had gathered to attend a Quran recitation ceremony, the Interior Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Tariq Arian said. 

The explosion comes amidst a sharp increase in violence in the country despite efforts to end the decades of conflicts through a political solution. 

President Ghani in a statement condemned the attack and said “the Taliban should accept the people’s call for ceasefire, refrain from terrorist attacks that are against humanity and Islam and should accept the peace process.”

Sources said that children are also among those who lost their lives in the attack.

The UK embassy in Kabul in a statement "strongly" condemned the Ghazni attack and said "innocent lives cut short by more needless violence" and that "those responsible must be held to account."

The Turkish embassy in Kabul also condemned the attack and said "we offer our condolences to the families of those lost and a speedy recovery to the injured."

The Taliban so far has not commented on the attack.