An explosion rattled a wedding party late on Wednesday in southern Afghanistan's restive province of Kandahar, killing at least 39 people and injuring 73 others, a local government official said.

Hajj Anas, a senior official with Kandahar's provincial government, told Xinhua that the bombing happened around 10 p.m. local time in Arghandab district outside Kandahar city, the provincial capital.

The groom and 10 children were among those injured, said the official, adding that the casualties could be higher.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.

Kandahar province, branded as the hotbed of the Taliban, has been seeing the increase of violence recently. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) earlier announced that it launch a major offensive on the Taliban in the province this month.