QUETTA: At least two people were killed and 13 others wounded on Wednesday after a powerful explosion occurred near the Pak-Afghan border, police said.

The blast ripped through a private bank in the Vash Mandi area on the Afghan side of the border.

An Afghan police official who requested anonymity told Dawn.com that militants had planted an improvised explosive device in a motorcycle parked outside the bank.

"The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off when a vehicle of Afghan police approached the bank," he said.

The intensity of the blast damaged a portion of the bank, nearby shops and smashed the glasses of vehicles parked nearby.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Afghan official said Taliban insurgents were likely behind the attack.

The blast on the Afghan side of the border prompted the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force, to tighten security at the friendship gate on the border.

Moreover, FC personnel were called near the border to avert any untoward incident in the aftermath of the blast.

The Afghan Taliban have intensified their attacks against US-led coalition forces and personnel from the Afghan national army and police.

As the Afghan presidential elections approach, people's fears have risen over violence in the country that would vote to elect its new head of state this month.