Blast kills 3 German peacekeepers, three others in Kabul

"Six people were killed and 11 wounded in the explosion," deputy commander of Kabul garrison Afzal Aman said, amending an earlier toll of 16 injured.

Aman, who was at the scene, said all the dead were members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on their way to Kabul's airport to depart after completing their tour of duty in Afghanistan.

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He said it appeared to have been a suicide bombing, citing witnesses who saw a taxi alongside the bus just before the explosion Saturday morning.

"There is a strong possibility of a suicide car bombing," he said, adding that it was the work of "the enemies of Afghanistan."

In Potsdam, a spokesman for the German ISAF contingent said three German soldiers had been killed in the blast.

The ISAF bus was completely destroyed in the blast which took place on the road to the principal eastern city of Jalalabad, near a base housing German ISAF troops, around five kilometres (three miles) east of the city centre.

Witnesses said bodies were left strewn by the blast, which threw the bus off the road.

British ISAF contingent spokeswoman Major Sarah Wood in Kabul 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 Jalalabad road is the main artery linking Kabul and the Pakistani border and is regularly patrolled by ISAF troops.