Kabul, Nov.7 : Afghan President Hamid Karzai has declared three days of mourning in honour of the 41 people killed in Tuesday evening’s suicide bomb attack in northern Baghlan Province.

Describing it as one of the worst attacks to have hit the country, Karzai said: "It is unfortunate that once again I comment about a miserable situation, and through you, the media, I want to express my condolences to the people of Afghanistan.”

"We are investigating this whole incident, unfortunate incident. We will take account of all the factors in it and then we will let you know. The team has already done forensic studies of the scene and another team will go to investigate fully," he told a news conference here.

Politicians and schoolchildren were among those killed in the suicide attack. Six of Afghanistan's lawmakers and schoolteachers were also killed.

Opposition spokesman and former Commerce Minister Mostafa Kazemi and four other parliamentary deputies were killed.  A deputy agriculture minister and prominent woman parliamentarian Shukria Barakzai were among the wounded.

On Wednesday, kith and kin of those killed sat and cried next to the bloodied bodies placed on beds in their homes.

The attack has reportedly shaken public confidence in the Karzai Government’s ability to deal with the terrorist menace in the landlocked country.

The renegade Taliban, which was removed from power in October 2001, has carried out more than 130 suicide attacks in Afghanistan so far this year, but has denied responsibility for Tuesday's attack.

The bomber approached the parliamentary delegation on foot as children lined up to welcome them on a visit to a sugar factory in Baghlan. Large crowds had also turned out to greet the deputies.

There are still pools of blood on the street at the site of the bombing. A foreign news agency reported that the police is collecting body parts and putting them in plastic bags for forensic investigation.

Meanwhile, people, including children, are receiving treatment in hospitals in northern Afghanistan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which the United States has condemned.

Baghlan is a small market town in a melon-growing region with streets lined with citrus trees, and Tuesday’s blast had all the hallmarks of a Taliban operation.

NATO and U.S.-led coalition troops are in a race against time to strengthen Afghan security forces before resentment grows against the presence of 50,000 foreign soldiers and mounting casualties lead Western public opinion to demand the troops be brought home.

The Afghan Taliban have stepped up their attacks, including suicide bombs, in the past two years as part an insurgency to topple the Afghan government and drive out foreign troops in Afghanistan under the command of NATO and the U.S. military. (ANI)