22 killed as car bomb rocks Kabul

A powerful car bomb exploded in a busy market area in the Afghan capital Kabul today, killing and wounding dozens of people, a police spokesman said.

A UN security official, who wished to remain anonymous, said 22 people had died.

Witnesses said a smaller explosion had drawn crowds when the car bomb exploded in front of shops selling televisions - forbidden during hardline Taliban rule.

Emergency vehicles and personnel carriers from the international peacekeeping-force rushed to the scene near the Ministry of Information. "This bomb was inside a taxi," police spokesman Dul Aqa said. "It was a very strong explosion. We can't say exactly who was behind it but the last bombs were al Qaida and [former Prime Minister] Gulbuddin [Hekmatyar]."

Hekmatyar issued a call for a holy war this week to drive US and foreign troops from Afghanistan. The blast occurred on a day when many residents do their shopping before Friday, the Muslim prayer day.

Emergency vehicles ferried more than 34 injured to hospitals while additional police and soldiers took positions at strategic points in the capital.

Residents said it was the worst blast in Kabul since the Western-supported government of President Hamid Karzai came to power following the overthrow of the Taliban last year.