Afghan car bomb kills 3, security officials say

KABUL, May 21: A car bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul killed three people today, security officials said.

The blast was on a main road in the east of the city, where foreign forces have bases and where they have been attacked several times in the past.

''I understand that three people, whose identity I do not know, have been killed,'' said a police official at the scene.

A spokesman for NATO peacekeepers said the force was sending out a response team.

''Initial indications are that the target was some sort of military but that's all we know now,'' said the spokesman, Major Luke Knittig.

Violence in Afghanistan in recent days has been some of the most severe since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001. It comes as thousands of NATO peacekeepers are arriving in the country.

Black smoke was rising from a destroyed taxi and US troops had cordoned off the site, a Reuters reporter said.

Police at the scene said they suspected the blast was triggered by a suicide bomber.

Taliban insurgents, fighting to oust foreign troops and defeat the government, have stepped up attacks in recent months.

Well over 100 people, including two French soldiers, an American and a Canadian have been killed in clashes in the south since Wednesday.

The fighting was some of the worst since the Taliban's ouster in 2001.

REUTERS