KABUL, Aug 29 (AFP) - About 10-15 people were killed late Sunday when a truck bomb ripped through downtown Kabul in an attack targetting a US security firm, a police officer at the scene told AFP.
"The explosion killed around 10-15 people, Afghan and foreigners, most of them foreigners," police Major Nasrullmenallah told AFP by phone.
A truck loaded with construction wood and packed with explosives detonated outside the headquarters of US firm DynCorp which provides President Karzai`s guards and other security services, including training Afghanistan`s fledgling police force, Nasrullmenallah added.
"One local national and one US contractor, who we believe was working for DynCorp, were killed," US military spokesman Major Scott Nelson told AFP.
The Taliban militia claimed responsibility for the bombing in telephone calls to Al-Jazeera television, the Qatar-based news channel said.
"We received two telephone calls from Mullah Jahan and Mullah Hakim, spokesmen for the Taliban movement, who claimed responsibility for this bombing and expressed deep regret that some Afghans who happened to be passing in the area were hurt," Al-Jazeera`s correspondent said from Kabul.
"They said the bombing targeted US forces, not Afghans," he added.
Nelson said the blast occurred at 5:54 pm (1345 GMT) in the downtown Shar-e-Naw district of Kabul -- an area crammed with United Nations offices and other international aid agencies.
Witness described scenes of devastation at the site of the blast.
"I saw four people lying on the floor and cars on fire," said photographer Massoud Hossieni, who arrived at the blast site shortly after the bomb exploded.
A doctor at the Kabul Emergency Hospital said that five of the dead were taken to the hospital, including three Nepalese and two Afghans. Five other Afghans who were injured were taken to his hospital.
More injured people were being treated at the Ali Abad Hospital closer to the blast site, added the doctor, who asked not to be named.