Blast Kills 3 German Soldiers, Injures 11 In Afghanistan

Many people were seriously injured, including Afghan passers-by, were less badly hurt, he said, adding that the hypothesis was that the blast was an attack.

The ISAF bus was completely destroyed in the blast which took place on the main road to Jalalabad, between central Kabul and the German ISAF base.

Earlier reports put at six the number of the dead.

"Six people were killed and 16 wounded in the explosion," Kabul deputy commander Afzal Aman said, adding that all the dead were ISAF troops.

However, British ISAF contingent spokeswoman Major Sarah Wood only confirmed one person had been killed and several injured in the explosion.

Wood said it was too early to give precise figures or say how many civilians or military had been caught in the explosion.

"We don’t know precise numbers yet," she said. "It’s difficult to say what caused the explosion at this point.

"Our first priority is dealing with the injured and then we can start to look into the cause of the explosion."

The blast, which happened on the main route to the eastern city of Jalalabad , left several dead bodies lying by the side of the road. The bus itself was thrown off the road by the force of the blast.

The explosion occurred around five kilometers (three miles) east of the city between the centre of Kabul and the German ISAF base.

The BBC’s correspondent said it is too early to say who was responsible for the blast, but a local Afghan official has blamed the attack on remnants of al-Qaeda or Taleban.

The 4,600-strong ISAF peacekeeping force is responsible for security in the Afghan capital and is currently under joint German-Dutch command.

Saturday’s explosion was the second violent incident involving German peacekeepers in Kabul in recent weeks.

On May 29, one German peacekeeping soldier was killed and another injured, when their vehicle drove over a mine in Kabul .