At least eight people were killed and 31 others injured on Saturday as gunmen stormed New Kabul Bank's branch in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, confirmed by provincial officials.

Five militants were involved in the attack, according to Toryalai Abdiani, the province's Police Chief.

The incident started at around 2:30 p.m. local time when a suicide bomber carried out an attack by detonating explosives at the entrance to the bank, then four additional gunmen started shooting in the building, and were later killed by security forces, Abdiani added.

Thirty-one were wounded and brought to the nearby hospital by ambulances. Most of the injured are civilians and a number of them are in critical condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but President Ashraf Ghani denounced the attack and said via Twitter that it was "a cynical assault on Afghan people living their lives and doing business."