An explosion in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 39 people, Afghan officials say.

阿富汗官员称，南阿富汗地区坎大哈省发生一场大爆炸，至少39人死亡。

The explosion went off in the middle of a wedding party

Reports said the blast ripped through（猛烈爆炸） a wedding party on Wednesday evening, leaving another 70 more wounded.

It is unclear what caused the blast or why the wedding was targeted. No-one has yet said they planted a device.

Last week, Afghanistan held a national peace council and endorsed¹（批注，支持） a plan to seek peace with the Taliban. But violence has continued unabated（不减弱的，不衰退的） .

On Monday, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) lost 10 soldiers on its deadliest day in months.

Violent week

Mohammad Anaas, a senior official with the Kandahar city administration, told Agence France-Presse news agency the explosion took place at a wedding in Arghandab district, about 20km (12 miles) north of Kandahar city.

He said the incident took place at about 2100 local time (1630GMT) and put the number of wounded at 73.

"We don't know how many bodies remain at the site and we don't know if it was a suicide attack or a bomb or something else," he told AFP.

The explosion was reported to have taken place in an area reserved for men.

The groom² was one of those wounded in the attack, according to his brother, Mohammad Zanif.

"We don't know what happened. There was an enormous explosion and as a result everyone there was either killed or injured," he told AFP.

Local television appealed to people for blood donations to help those injured.

Although the surrounding district is a base for the Taliban, the families at the wedding were not known to have links with the authorities or security forces, AFP reported.

In earlier violence on Wednesday, four American Nato soldiers were killed when their helicopter was shot down in neighbouring Helmand province.

The Taliban claimed its fighters had shot down the aircraft with a rocket-propelled grenade（手榴弹） in Sangin district.

More than 20 Nato soldiers have died this week.

Last week, Afghan tribal³ leaders endorsed President Hamid Karzai's plan to seek peace with the Taliban.

The "peace jirga（族长会议） " backed an amnesty（大赦，特赦） and job incentives⁴（奖励，激励） to induce militants⁵ to give up arms.

The Taliban have been waging a battle to overthrow⁶ the US-backed government and expel（驱逐，开除） the 130,000 foreign troops there.

Kandahar is set to be the next focus of Nato's military drive against the Taliban.