"A suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car near a compound of a local construction company in Barmal district late on Sunday. As a result 10 people, with majority of them local workers have been killed and over 50 others injured," Afghan told Xinhua.

Many of the wounded were in critical conditions, he said. The company was a local firm active in construction of roads in Barmal district and surrounding areas.

Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid who claims to talk for armed outfit in talks with media from undisclosed location said his militants had attacked a joint base of Afghan and NATO forces killing several soldiers.

Paktika and neighboring Khost province have been seeing an escalation of Taliban-led insurgency over the past couple of years.

The incident occurred a day after a NATO-led forces airstrike killed more than 10 Taliban insurgents in Barmal district, according to a NATO statement released to media on Sunday.

Observers are of the view that Taliban-linked insurgency would further go up in 2011 as transition of security responsibilities from NATO-led forces to Afghan security forces will begin in July.