Afghan forces hit by suicide bomber

A suicide bomber has rammed his explosives-laden car into a minibus carrying Afghan soldiers south of Kabul, leaving several people dead and wounded. The defence ministry said at least six soldiers and seven civilians were killed in Wednesday's blast with the final toll expected to rise.

The bomber was in a Toyota Corolla that struck a minibus full of soldiers in the Chihulsutoon area south of Kabul, Aziz Ahmad, an Afghan army officer at the site of the blast, said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the morning rush-hour bombing.

"It was a big explosion and sent fire into the sky," Akbari Sarwar, a journalist who was on the road when the blast hit, said.

"When I moved in I saw scores of bodies, legs, arms, heads, flesh everywhere," he told the AFP news agency.

Blackened skeleton

The bus was reduced to a blackened skeleton of mangled metal, its roof and sides blown out.

An official from the Kabul ambulance service said his organisation was involved in evacuating the casualties.

The attack came as the US defence
secretary ended his visit [AFP]"We are involved in evacuation and there is a very high number of casualties," he said on condition of anonymity