At least 19 people have been killed and 52 injured in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a Nato convoy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say.

The attack took place in the west of the city, close to the parliament and other government buildings. Unconfirmed reports say there are five foreigners among the dead – it is not clear if they are military personnel. Despite tight security in Kabul, the city has seen some high-profile attacks by Taliban militants in recent months. The suicide bomber is reported to have been driving a car laden with explosives. An Isaf (Nato-led) convoy was caught up in the attack in the west of the city, according to the Afghan interior ministry.

An Isaf spokesman said an investigation was under way. No group has yet said that it carried out the attack. The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Kabul says that, as is often the case in such attacks, Afghan civilians seem to have borne the brunt of the explosion. Our correspondent says the police have set up extra checkpoints throughout the city this year, following a series of attacks by gunmen and bombers on government offices and hotels. But it is impossible to stop and search every car that enters the city, so these attacks seem certain to continue, he says.

Major offensive

Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the attack as “heartbreaking”. “We are condemning the attack in the strongest terms. I hope Afghanistan will soon get out of this suffering, God willing,” he said at a news conference broadcast on national television. President Karzai has recently returned from a trip to Washington where he hoped to gather support for his policy of reconciliation with certain elements of the Taliban.

Afghan officials are also preparing for a “jirga”, or a grand council, of tribal leaders, during which ways to promote peace in Afghanistan will be discussed. Meanwhile, there is a planned military offensive in the southern province of Kandahar, a key Taliban stronghold. Earlier this year Nato and Afghan forces launched a major offensive against militants entrenched in neighbouring Helmand province and security forces are still engaged in operations around Helmand. Nato and the US have deployed thousands of extra troops in Afghanistan, where numbers are expected to peak at 150,000 in August under a strategy designed to bring a swift end to the long-running insurgency.

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