Hunt for Kandahar blast survivors

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Rescuers are searching for survivors in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, a day after the deadliest bombing for a year killed at least 43 people.

More than 60 were hurt as buildings collapsed in the city centre attack. Almost all those hit were civilians.

Teams spent Wednesday sifting through rubble looking for more wounded.

The Taliban deny they were behind the car bombing. Correspondents say the militants often deny attacks involving civilian casualties.

Kandahar is a stronghold of the Taliban and has seen a number of attacks in 2009.

The explosion took place shortly after the first results were announced in the presidential election.

Officials say it was the deadliest blast in Afghanistan since July 2008, when more than 60 people were killed in a suicide bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul.

Election attacks

Reports said injured people were still being pulled to safety on Wednesday.

MAJOR ATTACKS THIS MONTH 18 Aug: Nine Afghans and a Nato soldier die and more than 50 are injured in Kabul15 Aug: Suicide bomb outside Nato HQ in Kabul kills seven and injures 9013 Aug: Twin blasts in Helmand and Kandahar kill 14, including several children6 Aug: Five American and three UK soldiers, five civilians and five policemen killed by roadside bombs mainly in Helmand3 Aug: Bomb in Herat city kills 121-2 Aug: Nine foreign soldiers killed over weekend <a class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8221265.stm">Afghan lessons from Iraq 'success'</a> <a class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8219472.stm">Karzai ahead in poll</a>

"There are some people still trapped in the buildings and we are trying to get them out," said rescue worker Mohammad Darwish, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Dazed locals joined security teams in the search, reports from the scene said.

Among those who lost their lives was a local staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf said: "We are not responsible for the attack and we condemn it."

He suggested it could be "government propaganda", but correspondents say it is difficult to see who else could be to blame.

Nato spokesman James Appathurai in Brussels said: "The Taliban carry out terrorist attacks on a regular basis. They cannot absolve themselves of responsibility for this attack, either directly or indirectly."

Afghans are currently observing the Muslim month of Ramadan and the explosion took place soon after dusk as they broke their fast.

Some reports said bombs were packed in cars that exploded simultaneously, others that a truck or tanker had been used.

The explosion struck close to the offices of the Kandahar provincial council. Windows across the city were shattered by the force of the blast.

The area has several hotels and offices of non-governmental organisations.

There were dozens of wounded, as well as more than 40 killed

A wedding hall was one of the buildings damaged, along with the headquarters of a Japanese construction company.

There have been a series of insurgent attacks across the country as Afghanistan held its presidential election.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said there were more than 400 attacks on election day alone, last Thursday.

Four US soldiers were also killed in fighting on Tuesday, making 2009 the deadliest year for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Early results in the presidential poll give incumbent Hamid Karzai a slender lead over former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Fewer than a fifth of votes cast have so far been counted amid allegations of widespread fraud.