UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was “appalled” by an attack outside a UN food agency center in Pakistan that killed at least 43 people, his spokesman said Sunday.

Ban “unequivocally condemns this abhorrent act of terrorism aimed at innocent people,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Pakistan's first known case of a female suicide attack targeted a World Food Programme distribution point in the town of Khar.

The Taliban has claimed the attack. The UN statement said there were 45 dead while officials in the region said there were at least 43 dead.

“The secretary general conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims,” added the UN statement.