A car bomb targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed nine people and wounded more than a dozen in Kabul yesterday, officials said, the latest attack to rock the capital. 

Kabul has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the Taliban and government engaging in peace talks to end the country's long conflict.

Yesterday's bombing targeted parliamentarian Khan Mohammad Wardak who was injured in the attack, officials said.

"Nine people were killed and 20 others were wounded in the car bomb," Interior Minister Masoud Andrabi told reporters, adding that all the casualties were civilians.

The ministry said in a separate statement that women and children were among those wounded by the "terrorist attack".

An aide to lawmaker Wardak said the attack occurred when he was travelling in his convoy, and five of his bodyguards were among the wounded.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kabul has seen a spate of targeted assassinations of prominent figures in recent months, including top officials, journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists.

Last week a deputy governor of Kabul province was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle detonated while he was on his way to office.

Vice President Amrullah Saleh, a strong opponent of Taliban, was appointed in October to lead a taskforce to curb the violence in Kabul.

Saleh's programme was popular with people in the capital and that had prompted the Taliban to launch new attacks in an attempt to discredit him, said Sayed Nasir Musawi, an independent Kabul-based political analyst.