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Kabul explosion: At least 10 killed as blast targets protest march Kabul explosion: At least 10 killed as blast targets protest march
(35 minutes later)
An explosion near demonstrations in Afghan capital Kabul has left at least 10 dead and dozens wounded, interior ministry officials have said. At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded after a suicide bomber targeted a large demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan.
More to follow Thousands of members of the Afghan Hazara minority group had been marching through the city during the planned protest over plans for a controversial new power line.
Police are reportedly transporting individuals to hospital after the blast took place in Deh Mazang square.
Eyewitness Ramin Anwari described seeing up to eight bodies in the Demazang area, where protesters were preparing to set up a camp after the four-hour march. He had no further details. 
A large part of the city centre had been sealed off for the protest march.
The demonstrators had reportedly waved banners and chanted “death to discrimination”, in reaction to the plans for a 500kV power transmission line to be built from Turkmenistan to Kabul — crossing through areas with large Hazara communities.
One of the march organisers Laila Mohammadi said she arrived at the scene soon after the blast and saw “many dead and wounded people.” 
Seddiq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said police were working to confirm initial reports of the blast. 
Violence had been feared at what was the second demonstration by Hazaras over the power line issue.
A similar protest held in May attracted tens of thousands of people, causing the central business district to be closed off.
Hazara politcal leaders had attended the May demonstrations, but wee notable by their absence on Saturday.
The TUTAP power line is backed by the Asian Development Bank with involvement of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The original plan routed the line through Bamiyan province, in the central highlands, where most of the country's Hazaras live. 
That route was changed in 2013 by the previous Afghan government. Leaders of the marches have said that the rerouting was evidence of bias against the Hazara community, which accounts for up to 15 percent of Afghanistan's estimated 30 million-strong population. 
They are considered the poorest of the country's ethnic groups, and have suffered a history of discrimination.
Afghanistan is desperately short of power, with less than 40 percent of the population connected to the national grid, according to the World Bank. Almost 75 per cent of electricity is imported. 
Additional reporting from AP