The suicide attack took place on Tuesday near Kabul's ancient Babur's Gardens [AFP]

The attacker climbed out of his car and detonated explosives  attached to his body near a security checkpost early on Tuesday, interior ministry  spokesman Zemarai Bashary told the AFP news agency.

The blast was about 100 metres from the Babur Gardens in western Kabul and did not cause much damage.

All that remained of the bomber was a leg, an AFP reporter said.

Babur's Gardens (Bagh-i-Babur), a popular public park, contains the grave of Babur, the 16th century founder of the Mughal Empire that included India.

Ali Shah Paktiawal, a police official, said the bomber was on foot and detonated his explosives next to the walls of the Babur Gardens.

He said the people who suffered injuries were riding in a minibus.

There were no police, soldiers or foreigners in the area at the time of the attack, Paktiawal said.

Checkpost explosion

Bashary said the attacker was apparently trying to drive into the city centre  to carry out the bombing.

When he saw the checkpost, less than 3km outside the heart of Kabul, he got out of his car and blew himself up, Bashary said.

"The bomber was shattered into small pieces," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday's blast.

The last suicide attack in Kabul was on July 7, which severely damaged the Indian embassy and killed more than 50 people, including two senior diplomats.

Taliban deaths

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, US forces said they called in air strikes after a firefight on Tuesday that resulted in the killing and wounding of 25 Taliban fighters.

The battle - the latest in a series of clashes between US forces and the Taliban - took place in Farah, a western province of Afghanistan.

Two Afghan police officers were wounded in the fighting, while there have been no reports of US casualties.

According to the Associated Press, attacks by the Taliban have resulted in a toll of 2,500 deaths this year alone.

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