A massive bomb has exploded in Kandahar killing up to 36 people and wounding dozens near hotels and government offices.
The truck bomb ripped through ten residential buildings, trapping casualties under the rubble.
64 people are believed to be wounded.
The bomb went off near a guest house frequented by foreigners, near the Kandahar provincial intelligence headquarters and less than a kilometre from the home of Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
‘It was either a tanker or a truck bomb and the target was a Japanese construction company which is working on road construction,’ Ahmad Wali Karzai, who is head of the Kandahar provincial council said.
Deputy Kandahar police chief Fazel Ahmad Shairzad said: ‘It was a truck bomb which has caused all these casualties and damage. At this stage we don't know what was the target of the blast. We are investigating.'
Meanwhile, a senior police official said it was a suicide car bomb.
Afghanistan, like the rest of the Muslim world, is observing the holy month of Ramadan with fasting from dawn to dusk.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but the ministry spokesman blamed the attack on Taliban-linked insurgents.
