A TRUCK bomb killed up to 10 people and wounded more than 60 in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul early today.

The blast was triggered near the interior ministry and the Indian embassy in Kabul, where 60 people were killed in an attack in July last year. The ministry building is just across the street from the embassy.

Building walls were damaged and windows shattered up to a mile from the explosion, which went off shortly after 8.30am, as people were arriving at work. Ambulances carried people away as a huge brown plume of smoke rose into the air.

Police officers at the site said they believed the blast was the work of a suicide bomber, but did not provide further details. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

A 21-year-old man named Najibullah said he had just opened his shop when the explosion went off, knocking him unconscious. When he awoke, he said, he could not see anything. "Dust was everywhere. People were shouting," said Najibullah. "You couldn't see their faces because there was so much dust." Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in New Delhi: "As per reports we have received, all embassy personnel are safe. There has been some damage to the embassy property. We are closely monitoring the situation."

He said it was too early to speculate who could be behind the attack. Indian authorities blamed the Pakistani intelligence service for last year's blast.

Violence in Afghanistan has reached its worst levels of the war, with Taliban insurgents spreading their attacks into previously secure areas.

The Afghan capital has been hit numerous times in recent months by suicide bombers and roadside bombs. The attacks usually target international military forces or government installations, but Afghan businesses and civilians are also often killed or injured.

This year has also been the deadliest for armed forces in the country. There are now more than 100,000 Western troops serving in Afghanistan, two-thirds of them American.

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