KABUL, Oct 2: A suicide blast hit the Afghan capital Monday, wounding three NATO soldiers and three civilians in the latest in a surge of attacks in Kabul claimed by the extremist Taliban movement.

The bomber blew himself up near a NATO convoy on a busy road that is frequently used by international troops in the east of the heavily secured and increasingly jittery city.

It came as UN staff in the city spent a second day on security lockdown following a suicide blast in the heart of the city on Saturday that killed at least 13 people and wounded around 50.

“A suicide bomber tried to attack a foreign troop convoy,” Kabul criminal investigation police chief Ali Shah Paktiawal told AFP after the latest attack.

Three passers-by were wounded and three NATO peacekeepers had minor injuries. A suspected accomplice who had driven the attacker was arrested nearby in military uniform, he said.

The body of the bomber was in pieces scattered across the area, an AFP reporter said. There were blood stains on the road and sidewalk. Afghan police and international troops cordoned off the area.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed its convoy was on the road as the explosion took place. “We’ve three very minor injuries,” Flight Lieutenant Euan Downie said.