The toll from Wednesday's insurgent attack in western Farah province has risen to as many as 46 dead and more than 100 injured, officials said.
Several gunmen launched a coordinated attack on the Farah courthouse as a trial of Taliban prisoners was due to take place. The private bank which also came under attack was in the same compound.
In an interview with TOLOnews, provincial governor of Farah Mohammad Akram Khpalwak confirmed that the death toll had risen to 46 and as many as 100 others were injured.
Those killed include around 36 civilians, two of whom are women and 13 are staff at the courthouse, he said, adding that there were four attorneys among the dead.
Deputy spokesman of interior ministry Najibullah Danish said that most of the injured were civilians.
It is not clear what is the fate of all the prisoners who were on trial, but AFP reported that at least one of the prisoners was being treated for injuries at the local hospital.
The incident took place in District 2 of Farah city at around 9:00am, when several armed men detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near the city's courthouse to clear the way for them to enter the compound, security officials said.
The gunmen, who were wearing Afghan National Army (ANA) uniforms, entered the building of the preliminary court while two others managed to make their way into the provincial branch of New Kabul Bank.
It is the first large-scale coordinated insurgent attack in western Afghanistan this year and the highest death toll for a single attack in Afghanistan since the suicide bombing at the Shia shrine in Kabul in December 2011 killed at least 80 people.
According to the provincial governor, the victims have been taken to the provincial hospital of Farah.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which was led by at least nine men. Four of the attackers were eventually shot dead during a shootout with the Afghan security forces, according to officials, and the bodies of five more attackers were found.
Releasing a statement Wednesday night, President Hamid Karzai condemned the Farah attack saying "Once again, terrorists shed the blood of our innocent people who went as individuals to local institutions for their work in Farah province."
He said the attack was perpetrated by the enemies of Afghanistan "to serve foreign evil objectives" and that "the perpetrators would be accountable to the nation for the killings and be plagued by a painful torment from Almighty God," according to the statement from the presidential office.
It added that Karzai was sending a delegation from Kabul to investigate the incident and to immediately help the families of the victims.